Thorny Path
by Eilara
Summary: Mamoru winds up in a situation his formidable skills may not be able to get him out of. Did Haruka see it coming? Why didn't she warn him? The pair are torn abruptly apart, but to what end?
1. Prologue

**Thorny Path**

Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Well, this is my first foray into this fandom. I'm a little nervous, because I'm not sure I've fully grasped the feel of the manga. We shall see. One of the reasons I began writing this particular ficcie, apart from the obvious fact that I absolutely love the manga, was that it is so poorly represented. The last time I checked there were only 11 fanfics. That's like... blasphemy! I'm not sure how long this one will be, I'm just going with the flow here. So do hope you enjoy, reviews are always welcome, and don't be afraid to throw in some criticism if you feel it needs improving anywhere. :)

This fic will no doubt stray from the canon plot, in fact I guarantee it. My imagination tends to be quite fertile, and even though I would like to stay true to the manga plot, there are certain limitations, namely the fact it isn't completed yet. ;)

I shall keep the rating as T for the moment, it may need to be bumped up to M later, depending on certain factors. :P Apologies for the shortness of the chapter, it being a prologue and all, the next chapter will be longer. :) Mild warning for language that some might find offensive.

* * *

Mamoru gazed down at the landscape below him. Well, gazed may not have been an accurate term. Mamoru Hijikata was blind. He did however have aid in the sight department. The pair of sunglasses he now wore transmitted data directly onto his retina which allowed his brain to render these signals into an elaborate form of wire model of the world around him. He couldn't pick up specific details, such as writing, or subtle facial expressions, but real time movement, obstacles and the like were more than sufficient for him.

From his perch on the roof of a four storey building, he could see a stream of traffic flowing like worker ants below him. Across from him stood an impressively large high-rise building. It was well into the night now, and even though the street below was still busy, the office block opposite was mostly quiet, the majority of the staff having headed home for the day.

It was the perfect time for Mamoru. He excelled under the cover of darkness, the one time when the limitations of eyesight became apparent. He hadn't been born blind, but he had suffered with the supposed disability for many years. His other senses had picked up the slack, as it were, honing themselves to above normal levels. With the addition of the technological aid, he was at no disadvantage to any other human being. In fact, he probably had an advantage over most.

With one last glance at the building opposite him, Mamoru straightened, gripping the long, slender white cane in his right hand a little tighter. He didn't need the aid of the cane, but its purpose was more than pure aesthetics.

He trotted over to the adjoining wall and, spying the emergency exit ladder nearby, made a beeline for it. With a quick check over the side of the building to make sure the side-street below was empty, he hopped over the knee high wall and slid easily down the ladder, landing with a soft thud at the bottom.

His hands chafed a bit from the friction that sliding down the ladder had caused and he rubbed them briefly on his jeans to get the proper feeling back into them.

The side-street was fairly narrow, practically just an alleyway between two buildings. It wasn't even wide enough for a vehicle to drive down. Some garbage had piled up along the walls, creating an obstacle course for Mamoru to dodge around. As he neared the entrance to the side-street, he slowed, eventually pausing at the corner of the building he had just descended from. Peering out onto the main street, he noticed a few people strolling along the pavement, but they didn't appear to have business in this area and he didn't consider them to be any threat. The road itself was still pretty busy with traffic, the noise of passing cars drowning out most other sounds in the vicinity.

A slight buzzing in his ear let Mamoru know that the communication line with his team was now open. Another aspect of the sunglasses was to allow his teammates to monitor his actions and keep in contact with him. Originally, their little group had consisted of just Mamoru and Ryotaro Igawa. Igawa was essentially his partner, providing backup from the safety of his heavily modified van. He specialised in all things technological, so if Mamoru was the brawn of their operation, Igawa was the brains.

Mamoru had been quite comfortable with that arrangement. Igawa certainly had his uses – the sunglasses being just one of many. Mamoru was also quite the lone wolf. He didn't like having to work with others, they tended to get underfoot, become weaknesses, liabilities. So, with Igawa well out of the way in his protected vehicle, Mamoru was mostly left to his own devices. That was until 'she' had shown up. Haruka Toyama had practically accosted him on the street and demanded he 'save' her. She had been just a scared twelve year old girl to him then. If he had known what she would get him into, he certainly wouldn't have agreed to help her so easily. His fairly simple life had turned into one huge, ugly mess.

A wry smile passed across his lips. It wasn't as if he really had much choice. The girl was pre-cognitive after all. She had known exactly what she was doing, had planned it all out. No, that wasn't exactly true. Her predictions weren't set in stone. What she saw was just one of many possible futures. He had proven time and time again that the future she could see was changeable. Still, it left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Ultimately, he had agreed to look after Haruka, to keep her safe. The words she had uttered when they had first met came back to him. 'Until death do us part'. For something like that to come out of a child's mouth was creepy to say the least. When taking into account that she was also pre-cognitive, it was downright worrisome. What caused her to say that? The question had crossed his mind many times over the months that he had known the girl. He also had the niggling feeling that she wanted, or expected something more from him. It wasn't as if he was good at reading kids and he hated complications so he firmly ignored anything that was out of his comfort zone.

"You okay?" Igawa's voice crackled through his earpiece.

Mamoru shook his head. He'd been standing at the entrance to the alleyway for far too long, lost in his own thoughts.

"Worried about Haruka?" Igawa continued, upon receiving no reply from Mamoru.

"What?" Mamoru's response came across as gruffer than he had intended. If he had to admit it, he probably was a little worried. Not about Haruka per se, but her behaviour before he and Igawa had left earlier that evening had been rather odd. Usually, she asked to come along, but she hadn't even mentioned it. Even as bad as he was at reading kids, he could tell she had been upset about something. The only thing he could think of was that she had 'seen' something that she hadn't liked. _Great, yet another thing to worry about._

He heard Igawa cough lightly through the earpiece. He was obviously contemplating whether to push the subject, but Mamoru's slightly heated reaction was causing him to doubt whether that was a good idea.

"Let's just focus on business," Mamoru interjected before the other man could make up his mind.

Stretching his cane out before him, he walked out onto the main street, posing as just another pedestrian, albeit a blind one. He strolled leisurely along the pavement opposite the high-rise building, the tip-tapping of his cane clicking against the concrete the only other sound aside from the traffic.

"Wait, hadn't we agreed on using the back entrance?" Igawa's voice sounded a little worried.

"Change of plans," Mamoru muttered, heading to the edge of the pavement, readying to cross the road, directly opposite the main entrance of the towering building.

"What the hell? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Another wry smile passed across Mamoru's features, but he chose not to reply, considering the question mostly rhetorical.

Seeing a gap in the traffic, he hurried across the road, cane leading. He paused as he reached the pavement on the opposite side of the road, scanning the front of the building. The two large doors which made up the main entrance were closed, as would be expected at this time. He presumed they were glass, going by the usual taste in this area of the city and the images that were being sent to him via the sunglasses. He couldn't see anyone in the foyer area of the building, so he cautiously approached the entrance. The images that were sent via his sunglasses used a sort of sonar system. It wasn't terribly accurate at long range, but it did offer the capability to 'see' through some amount of solid matter.

Something didn't feel quite right. There should at least be a security guard in the foyer. Unless, of course, he was doing his rounds. A gentle nudge on one of the glass doors with his cane confirmed Mamoru's deduction that they wouldn't be locked yet, allowing employees working late to leave without hassle. With his left hand he pushed open the door and slipped inside, letting the door close behind him.

There was a panel to his right which relayed the names of the various companies that were located on the premises. Of course, Mamoru couldn't read it, but he had gone over the layout of the building with Igawa earlier, so had no need for it anyway.

"Third floor, right?" Mamoru asked under his breath, as he headed for where he knew the elevators to be.

"Yeah," Igawa replied. "Make a right when you get there and it should be the second office on your left."

Reaching the set of elevators, Mamoru pressed the call button and waited, focusing all his senses on the area around him, in case anyone was close enough to discover him.

"Anything out of place on your end?" he asked through the com.

There was a pause before Igawa's voice piped up through the earpiece. "Mmm, not that I can see. In fact the place seems perfectly quiet."

Igawa had hacked into the building's security system earlier that night in preparation for Mamoru's infiltration. Having an extra set of eyes was never a bad thing. It was practically part of their standard code of conduct. Mamoru's sudden change in plans had probably upset their routine a bit, but he trusted in Igawa's ability to adapt to the situation, and if there was any danger lurking above him, then he was sure Igawa would see it before he got there.

The elevator pinged as it arrived on the ground floor and the doors slid open almost soundlessly. Mamoru stepped inside and eyed the control panel, eventually finding the button for the third floor and pressing it.

He clenched and unclenched his hand around his cane as the contraption began to move. Elevators weren't his most favourite of places. There was a sense of loss of control inside a moving mechanised box that Mamoru really didn't like. The fact that it was moving particularly slowly wasn't helping one bit.

Deciding to busy himself while the damned slow elevator made its way to the third floor, he reached inside his waist length jacket and checked that his equipment was all in order. A faint grating sound that emanated from somewhere above Mamoru had him jerking his attention upwards.

"What the hell is that?"

'Igawa's confused voice came back over the com. "What?"

Suddenly the elevator shuddered, causing Mamoru to shift his feet and lean against one wall for support.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," he muttered under his breath. "What the hell's wrong with this thing, Igawa?"

Silence greeted Mamoru's question.

"Igawa?"

Again, there was no response. Before he could contemplate the meaning behind it, the lift shuddered once more. Mamoru's stomach suddenly felt like it had shot up into his throat as the lift abruptly descended, a heck of a lot faster than it had been ascending. Metal screeched upon metal as the mechanical box plummeted to the ground floor.

"Shit!"

* * *

Haruka sat huddled on her bed, her arms around her knees, hugging them close to her chest. Her wispy blonde hair had fallen forward, obscuring part of her face, strands of it clinging to her skin where her tears had moistened it.

Why did it have to turn out this way? Why was she so powerless? She stifled back another sob. Even after everything Mamoru had taught her, had showed her, she still had seen no way out. Other than... other than... this.

How long would it be before they saw each other again? Would they even see each other again? No, she had to believe in the future she had seen all that time ago. If she didn't...

Haruka shook her head forcefully. No she wouldn't go down that path. She couldn't.

She glanced up as the door to her bedroom swung open. A tall man in a black tailored suit with a grim expression on his face stood in the doorway. She didn't need to ask who he was. She knew.

"You need to come with me, Miss." The man's voice was deep and authoritative.

Haruka swallowed the lump in her throat. Even though she knew what was going to happen, it didn't make it any more bearable.

She turned and slid her legs off the bed.

"Okay," she replied meekly.

Without bothering to pick up any of her belongings or even a single look back, she stood and followed the man out of the room. As they reached the entrance of the building that had been her home for many months she glanced behind her, scanning over the objects as if trying to ingrain them into her memory. This would be the last time she would see this place. Tears threatened to overflow once more as she turned her back on the room and exited the building.


	2. First Steps

**Thorny Path**

First Steps

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Bear with me with the explanations of what the heck is going on in the story. All shall be revealed. ;)

Special thanks to chibi-vale, the first reviewer for this fic. Yay! Keep 'em coming! :P

Let's hope this fandom picks up a bit. It's sad to see such a great manga being neglected so much. :

As always, reviews are very much appreciated. :)

* * *

Haruka propped up her chin on the palm of her hand, her elbow resting on the windowsill, as she peered out at the people milling around in the plaza below her. She sighed wistfully. She wished she could be one of those people, living a normal life, being able to stroll around without a care in the world.

This had become a habit of hers - watching strangers out of the window, imagining what their lives were like, where they were going, what thoughts were running through their minds. The wearer of a pink frilly top caught her eye. As she looked closer she saw it was a girl of perhaps sixteen years of age, wearing tight, figure-hugging jeans and had some kind of designer bag slung over her shoulder. She seemed in a rush, weaving in and out of people that were in her way. Haruka imagined that she was late for a date either with friends or a boyfriend. She smiled, somewhat sadly. She had experienced the beginnings of friendship once, back when she was at school, before it was all ripped out from under her.

She tore her eyes away from the window, slipping her arm from the sill, and leant against the wall, head resting lightly against the cool wallpaper. That life seemed so distant now. Like it had been lived by another person.

Since that time, she had been put under 'protective custody' by the Elements Network, constantly moved around, watched over and generally used. It wasn't necessarily a bad life. She could imagine people who were far worse off than her. She had a roof over her head, she had food in her stomach and she was healthy. Those were the important things in life. Or so she kept telling herself. She couldn't help but wish for something more though. She wanted friends. Yes, she was still in touch with Alpha and Juliet and occasionally with Igawa, but they were always away, living their own lives. She had no idea what had happened to Sierra after she had gone missing from the hospital, let alone Mamo-. She stopped herself as her thoughts began to meander towards the man she had knowingly parted from.

How long had it been anyway? Six, almost seven years. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Too long.

Her visions, her dreams, came fewer and farther between these days. She wondered if her ability would fade away with age. The Elements Network certainly weren't pleased at that prospect. From their point of view she had cost them a lot of money and resources to keep safe. Would they throw her away, just like they had with Mamoru? She groaned as he entered her thoughts again. She had vowed a long time ago to keep him from her mind. She would only drown in self pity if she continued to linger on thoughts of him. She hadn't had a single vision about him since that fateful night. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant. She hoped it was just because he wasn't close to her now and not that he was... dead.

With barely restrained frustration, she pushed herself to her feet and walked to the table in the centre of the living come dining room. The apartment she lived in for the moment was fairly small. There was the living room which doubled as a dining room, a kitchen, one bedroom and a bathroom. It was more than ample for her needs, and of course for whoever her caretaker was at the time. She wasn't a child any more, she was more than capable of taking care of herself, yet the Elements Network was still so over-protective of her. It had been well over a year since any other organisation had shown signs of interest in her. Still, that didn't mean they weren't interested, she supposed. Perhaps they were just biding their time? Or maybe they had heard of her diminishing abilities? She shrugged. She didn't really care. She seemed destined to be used by whoever had the most power, strength, or money.

With her help, E.N. punished criminals who had escaped sentencing through the judicial system. It wasn't a bad cause. She could be used for much worse. She sat down on one of the sturdy wooden chairs at the table and drummed her fingers on the smooth surface. She had once enjoyed doing the work she did now, back when it had been just Igawa, Mamoru and herself. Even when Sierra had joined them, followed by Juliet. The two women had worked for The Wall, a special forces unit led by Alpha, which specialised in non-lethal combat against criminal organisations. They had been assigned as extra protection, or maybe it had just been to keep an eye on Mamoru. It had all been a bit vague with hidden meanings behind everything. The use of the phonetic alphabet for codenames for the members had been slightly amusing to begin with, but she understood the need for them all too well. Information was power.

Haruka let out another sigh. "This isn't getting me anywhere."

She pulled her fingers through her long, fine blonde hair, sweeping it away from her face. She glanced at the kitchen door to her left. Maybe she should make some dinner. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she usually found the act of cooking fairly therapeutic and it would certainly help relieve her boredom.

As she made her way to the kitchen she heard the sound of the front door to the apartment unlocking and opening. She paused in the kitchen doorway and peered round at the small entrance hall area.

"Ah, Mr. Kuroki. Good evening," she greeted the slender young man as he removed his footwear by the front door.

He looked up at her from his bent over position, his smile reaching to his brown eyes. "Miss Toyama, how many times must I ask you to call me Ren?"

She returned the smile. "Oh, about as many times as I've asked you to call me Haruka."

He straightened up and chuckled lightly. "Fair enough."

Haruka was glad it was Ren who was her 'caretaker' today. He was one of the nicer ones and generally came with a ready smile. She knew he wasn't particularly pleased at having to perform this 'babysitting duty' as she'd overheard some of the others call it, but at least he didn't take out his displeasure on her.

"You're just in time. I'm about to start dinner. Please, sit," she said as she motioned to one of the chairs by the dining table.

Ren's eyebrows rose. "You don't need to bother about me, Miss Toyama."

She offered him an encouraging smile. "It's much more fun to cook for someone else."

He looked dubious for a moment, but appeared to submit to her request as he walked over to the dining table and took a seat, looking a little awkward and flustered.

Haruka's gaze lingered on the man for a moment longer, taking in his features. She supposed he was a fairly handsome man, yet she couldn't bring herself to be attracted to him, or any other man at that. Unconsciously she compared every man she met to Mamoru, and they all seemed to fall terribly short. She wasn't even sure she could rely upon such a contrast any more. Six years ago she had been but a child. She was sure everything would be different now. Her views on the world, her views of people. Still, that heavy feeling in her chest remained whenever she thought of Mamoru. Was it love? She couldn't be sure. She didn't have anything to compare it to as she hadn't had the same feeling for another person.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she realised she had been staring at Ren and he had caught her. She turned abruptly and entered the kitchen. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

She busied herself taking vegetables out of the fridge and arranging them beside the cutting board. As she reached for a knife, she heard soft footfalls on the carpeted floor. Ren entered the kitchen and paused behind her.

"Is everything okay, Miss Toyama?" His voice was barely more than a whisper.

_Oh no, he had gotten the wrong impression, hadn't he? _She chewed on her bottom lip nervously, as she desperately thought of a way to diffuse the situation.

"Uhm, Mr. Kuroki, I..." Her voice trailed off as another image transplanted itself over the vegetables and chopping board in front of her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she blinked. A vision. She had just had a vision. She turned around hastily and grabbed Ren's arm.

"We have to get out of here. Now."

Ren looked clearly confused. "What?"

"No time to explain," she told him as she pushed past the man and began to drag him along behind her. She gripped the material of his shirt tighter as she picked up speed, heading straight for the front door.

As she reached for the door handle, Ren leaned around her and grabbed her hand, stopping her from opening the door.

"We can't leave, Miss Toyama."

Haruka turned on the man, anger flaring behind her eyes. "Do you want to die?" The tone of her voice was eerily calm, which clearly unsettled her caretaker as he took a step back.

"I thought not, so just follow me."

The complete change that had overcome Haruka had put Ren utterly off-balance and he meekly did as he was told, allowing her to open the door and leave the apartment swiftly.

"Hurry," she commanded as she broke into a run down the poorly lit corridor that led to a stairwell at the back of the apartment complex. She didn't look behind her, but she could hear Ren's footfalls thudding on the floor, following closely.

Just as they neared the end of the corridor, a massive tremor shook the building, causing Haruka to stumble to her knees. A loud booming noise assaulted her ears, deafening her. Still, she didn't look back, pushing herself to her feet and staggering to the top of the stairwell. She felt an arm encircle her waist and lift her slightly off the ground, propelling her forward. Her eyes widened in alarm and now she did look back. Ren was cringing as he half carried, half pushed her down the stairwell almost at a full run.

Directly behind him was a large wall of fire, rushing straight for them. She opened her mouth to shout a warning, but she was still deafened by the explosion and had no idea if her voice had obeyed her. She felt them both suddenly lurch as Ren jumped from the last few steps, aiming directly for the main door to the building, just a few feet from the bottom of the stairwell.

Her hearing beginning to return to her, she heard a dull thud and a sickening crunch as they connected with the sturdy wood of the door, before it relented and opened, sending them sprawling to the ground outside. Her world flipped upside down as they rolled on the hard tarmac, her bare elbows scraping against the unyielding surface. They came to a stop in a crumple of intertwined limbs a few feet from the doorway. Haruka felt an intense heat behind her for a moment, but it soon faded away.

After what felt like an eternity, she dared to move, extracting herself gingerly from the man lying worryingly still next to her. Her body ached, that was for sure, but she didn't think anything was broken, and she didn't seem to be bleeding excessively anywhere. Her elbows had been skinned though and they stung something awful when she moved her arms.

She crawled her way back over to Ren and peered at him. He was lying face down, one arm splayed out to one side, the other at a disturbing angle beneath him. As she leaned closer, she realised what the sickening crunch had been when they had impacted the door. Ren's shoulder had at best been dislocated; at worst it had been completely shattered. She laid a hand gently on his back and was relieved to feel the slow, if ragged, rise and fall of his breathing. He was unconscious, but at least he was still alive. He had protected her from getting seriously injured at great risk to himself. It may have been part of his job, but she would be eternally thankful to him.

She looked back at the apartment building. Flames licked at the windows on the first floor, but it seemed to be contained at that level. She hoped no-one else had been injured, or worse, from the explosion.

She had to contact the emergency services, to get Ren some help. She would call the fire services, but she would need to contact E. N. for help with her caretaker. She knew they wouldn't like it if he was just taken to any hospital.

Shuffling closer to Ren's body, she tried to reach under his hips, aiming for his pockets. She hadn't had any time to grab any of her belongings, so her phone was still up in the apartment. She hoped Ren still had his on him, and that it hadn't been crushed during their tumble.

"Sorry," she whispered to his unconscious form as she felt her way over the material of his trousers. She didn't want to move Ren and risk worsening his injuries, so she had to settle for this awkward, and slightly embarrassing, way of searching him.

"Just what do you think you're doing, young lady?"

Haruka froze at the unexpected voice behind her. She didn't recognise the male baritone and the tone of his voice made her skin crawl.

"Stealing from an injured person... that's pretty low," came the stranger's voice again, this time a little closer.

She quickly retracted her hand from under Ren's body and turned to face the newcomer.

The man was stocky, with short cropped brown hair and narrow, beady eyes. He was dressed in khakis and a puffy, thigh length jacket. He had a smirk plastered on his face.

"Who are you?" Haruka hissed at him.

His smirk grew into a fully fledged grin. "Oh, you mean you don't know? The stories must be true then."

The fear that had been curling in her gut suddenly blossomed into a sickening, sinking feeling. This man had been behind the explosion. For some reason he wanted to kill her. She was used to being sought after, living in fear of kidnapping, but for someone to blatantly want her dead was unusual.

"Why do you want to kill me?" she asked, doing well to hide the hesitation in her voice.

The man's annoying grin faded a little for a moment. "Kill you? Whatever made you think that?"

Haruka gaped at the guy. "That!" She pointed directly at the fire that was still roaring away inside the building.

The man didn't bother to look where she had motioned. He chuckled briefly.

"Well, you wouldn't be of much use if you hadn't been able to avoid that, eh?"

Now Haruka was beginning to get angry. She should be used to this by now, yet the rage she felt at having innocent people being put at risk because of her never grew cold.

"Bastard," she spat at him as she rose to her feet, her aching muscles protesting slightly.

"You're a fiery one, aint'cha?" He slipped a hand inside his jacket and pulled out a combat knife, flipping it in the air and catching it twice before aiming it towards her.

"You've got three choices. Run, attack me, or give up. It's up to you." He cocked his head to one side as he spoke, clearly goading her.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. What choice did she have? She doubted she could over-power the well built man. Running would probably prove futile, it was unlikely he was here alone, and even if he was, she didn't want to leave Ren alone and completely vulnerable. She would be damned if she would just go quietly with this asshole though. _C'mon, Haruka, think! There has to be another way!_

If only her abilities worked like they used to. She would have been able to see the best option laid out before her. There was a time when she wished that she had never gotten the ability to see the future, yet now she was cursing its absence.

"C'mon, girl, choose, before I take even that away from you."

"No. I won't let you force me into playing this silly game of yours."

"Tsk." The man rolled his shoulders and with a quick flick of his wrist, he flipped the knife once more in the air. This time he caught the blade and lifted his arm back, readying to throw it. "I don't like being disappointed."

The burly man paused mid-motion, his eyes widening. "Wha-?" His exclamation was cut short as the knife fell from his grip and he crumpled to the floor.

Haruka was equally as surprised. She hadn't heard or seen anything that would indicate what had happened, but as the man's body fell, it revealed another figure standing behind him.

A very familiar figure. One that took her back to her childhood. Slightly scruffy, short dark hair, tall, slender body, black jacket, white shirt, dark blue jeans and of course those sunglasses and the white cane that was resting against his shoulder in the most casual of poses. She felt tears build up at the corner of her eyes but she blinked them stubbornly away. She was no longer a child, she couldn't react like this. Exactly for that reason, she resisted the urge to run to the man.

"Ma-" Her voice broke and she had to pause before trying again. "Mamoru?"

The man before her stayed silent for many moments before he brought the cane that was resting on his shoulder down in front of him and stepped over the crumpled body between them.

"Of course. I thought I was the blind one."

She almost managed a laugh at that. Almost.

"Who's the corpse?" he asked, motioning with his cane to behind her.

"Corpse?" She glanced behind her at Ren's unconscious form. "Oh! That's..." She trailed off. How was she going to explain to the man who had promised to look over her and protect her 'until death do us part' that someone else had been doing his job for all these years?

She glanced back around at Mamoru. He was looking at her expectantly. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"He works for the Elements Network. He's one of the people they send over to look after me."

Again, a distinct silence developed between them. Finally, she heard Mamoru let out a sigh.

"Didn't do a very good job then, did he?"

It was a rhetorical question, she knew, but it irritated her, and she felt the need to respond. The man had risked himself to protect her. He deserved at least some defence.

"He's injured like that because he _did _protect me."

She saw Mamoru's eyebrows furrow together. Was he angry? Probably. Haruka lifted a hand to her forehead. This wasn't going how she had imagined it. They were finally reunited and they were already practically arguing.

Mamoru took several steps forward, closing the gap between them, and roughly grabbed the arm she had raised. He twisted it to the side, baring the underside and her skinned elbow. Haruka almost let out a yelp at the unexpected contact.

"I thought I taught you better. Didn't you learn anything?"

She knew he was referring to her injuries, how he had known she had no idea, but the harshness of his voice sent her mind reeling. She struggled for a reply.

"Yes, but... that was in conjunction with my pre-cognitive ability, and..." Crap, she hadn't meant to let on that her abilities had faded.

"And... what?" Again, his voice was icy cold. Why was he acting like this towards her?

She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to think of some other explanation. Nothing was forthcoming. Besides, it wasn't as if she wanted to lie to him.

"The visions haven't been coming as often as they used to. I didn't see what was going to happen past the explosion." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Abruptly he let go of her arm, and it dropped limply to her side. She didn't want to look at him, to see whatever expression he had on his face. She turned away towards the apartment building and was instantly reminded that the fire was still burning furiously.

"I still haven't called the emergency services!" She started to head back to Ren, to begin the search for his phone once more, but Mamoru's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"It's already done. They should be here soon. We should leave." His voice had softened, causing her to glance over her shoulder at him. His expression was back to one of indifference.

"We? You mean I can go with you?"

He raised an eyebrow at that question. "Unless you plan to cancel our contract?"

Her lips quirked slightly in the beginnings of a smile. "Don't think I'll let you off that easily."

Mamoru snorted. "Didn't think you would."

He removed his hand from her shoulder and began to walk up the alleyway, back the way he had come, obviously expecting her to follow.

She glanced back at her caretaker. "What about Ren?"

Mamoru paused and turned to look back at her. "Ren? Him?" He motioned to Ren's unconscious form. "He'll be fine. It's not life threatening."

Haruka wasn't completely convinced. Surely Mamoru had no way of knowing for sure. Still, she was beginning to fall back into old habits, and she had always trusted him in the past, there was no reason she should stop now.

Mamoru had begun walking again and she jogged up the narrow street to catch up with him, falling into stride beside him. It almost felt like old times. A huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. He had come back for her. She had always wanted to believe he would, but there had been that niggling doubt that perhaps she had been wrong.

Now there were new questions. Where had he been all these years? What had stopped him from coming back sooner? As far as she knew, E.N. had wanted him eliminated six years ago. Would they still be after him? So many questions... but for now, she was content to simply bask in his presence.


	3. Relearning

**Thorny Path**

Re-learning

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Wow, this story's really on a roll. I just can't stop writing it! :o Sorry readers of Entwined, I will update that fic soon as well! .

My special thanks this chapter go to ozzy22 and chibi-vale who managed the amazing feat of squeezing in a review between my super-speedy updates! :D

If I had been writing a short story, I probably could have finished this fic last chapter. It felt like a natural place for an ending. _But _I've never been one to do things by half! So this will probably turn into an epic length novel just like all my other fics. :P

One thing I really noticed with this chapter was, having never written about a blind character before, how difficult it is to portray the world around you with the reduction of one of those sensory perceptions. I had to really think about what I was writing. I suppose that can be a good thing though. :P

Just so you know, I have no beta for this story, so there may be typos or grammatical and spelling errors, though I do like to think I keep those to a minimum. ;)

But, zomg, you don't want to read a stupidly long author's note, so on with the story! Enjoy!

* * *

Mamoru shifted in his seat. His legs were stretched out, and his head was leant back on the top edge of the back of the bench. For all intents and purposes he was sleeping. Well, that's what it would appear like to anyone else at least. Every now and then, the motion of the train carriage would rock him slightly. A very soothing feeling all in all. He wasn't, of course, actually sleeping. He was resting his eyes. It was tiring on them to be constantly fed data that seemed alien to his body, so he took any opportunity he could get to take a little 'nap'.

He almost abandoned his efforts at resting as he felt Haruka's eyes on him yet again. She had been practically staring at him non-stop since they had left the alleyway. It was starting to get a little unsettling.

He couldn't really blame her, he supposed. It had been six years since they had last seen each other. For all his nonchalant behaviour back at the burning building, he had been quite dumbfounded at the first sight of this grown up Haruka. He still couldn't see specific details, even with the improvements in the technology of his sunglasses, but her form was very... very womanly. He suddenly scoffed at himself, mentally. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen a woman before. What was the big deal?

He decided to focus on more practical things. For now they were on a train heading towards the suburbs of the city. Haruka had questioned the wisdom of choosing this mode of transport. The stations all had multiple security cameras, so it would be very easy for anyone who was looking for them to find them via the footage. He had told her not to worry about it, dismissing the subject entirely. If he had been worried about being spotted, he would never have revealed himself to Haruka now. No, he practically relished the idea of E.N. coming to find him. They owed him some serious blood and sweat, and that was a debt he would make sure they paid up on; for what they had put him through, for what they had done to Haruka, and more importantly, for making him almost break his word.

The announcement for the next station buzzed over the train's intercom and he slid up to a less relaxed sitting position.

"We're getting off here," he told Haruka. She nodded at him from her seat beside him.

He smirked a little at the sight of her wearing his jacket. It was oversized and the sleeves came down well past her knuckles. It may look a little odd, but it was better than having everyone and his dog staring at her scraped elbows and dirty top. Her light cotton trousers had been scuffed a bit, but according to Haruka, it wasn't particularly noticeable.

Leaning on his cane, he pushed himself to his feet as the train began slowing down. Haruka followed suit and placed her hand gently on his arm, as if she were going to guide him. They had to keep up appearances after all, and it seemed the young woman remembered exactly how their little charade went.

The train eventually came to a stop and they followed the small amount of people who shuffled up to the doors, alighting onto the platform and making their way into the station building.

"Where to from here?" he heard Haruka's light, airy voice chirp up from beside him.

"That way," he said as he nodded towards one of the three exits. "We walk from here."

Haruka began leading him towards the door without asking any more questions. That was just like her, he mused. Her unshakeable faith in him had always confused him. He really didn't know what she saw in him. He was aloof, sometimes downright rude, his past was a mix of shades of murky greys and black – he had to admit himself that he wasn't the most appealing of people, so why had she chosen him? Such a strange girl... or woman, as would be more exact now.

The pair exited into the evening air. It was getting pretty late now, the sun having set about an hour ago, and Mamoru could feel the chill of the night through his thin shirt. He nudged Haruka to the left and she followed his direction, leading them along a cobbled pavement that sloped gently downwards, towards what looked to be a housing estate.

They walked in silence for some time, with Mamoru glancing to his side every so often to check if Haruka was actually still with him. She could have her weird moments, but he wasn't used to her being so damn... quiet. Then again, people could change, couldn't they? Especially a person who had been subjected to such unusual treatment. He didn't know exactly what Haruka's life had been like while he had been gone, but he could guess. It was unlikely that E.N. would have treated her cruelly, but being deprived of certain things which most of the human population took for granted would certainly take its toll.

He felt her grip on his arm tighten and he peered over at her once again. She was staring at the ground as they walked, apparently lost in thought.

"How did you know?" she asked him, her voice low and a little hesitant.

He frowned at her. "Know what?"

She glanced up at him and, although he couldn't see it, he was sure she had an expression of confusion on her face. "How did you know when to come for me exactly when I needed you the most?"

He looked away, wondering what would be the best answer to that question. It probably wasn't wise to tell her that he had been watching over the apartment building where she had been staying for some time now. He had eventually found her location a little over a month ago, but he had waited with contacting her until the right time. She would no doubt be angry with him if he told her that though. Or maybe not. Women were even less understandable than children. _Why do I get the feeling I've jumped from the frying pan into the fire?_

"Coincidence," he eventually replied. He could practically feel the doubt emanating in waves off of the woman beside him. _Yeah, that wasn't very convincing, was it?_

"Left here." A hasty change in subject was in order and, conveniently, they were nearing their destination.

Haruka paused mid-stride, peering at where he had just indicated. "Here?"

A wide driveway adjoined with the road, edging a small garden and making its way towards a modest sized house.

"Yeah, here," he replied simply.

Haruka hesitated for a moment longer before stepping onto the gravel driveway, small stones crunching under her feet, with Mamoru in tow. She headed onto the path that led to the front door.

"Not that way, take the side entrance," Mamoru told her as he walked past her, his arm slipping out of her grip.

He heard her step back onto the gravel as he led the way to the simple PVC door at the side of the house. With a glance to the back of the building, he noted that the single garage door was closed, but hadn't been secured. He reached for the side door handle and pulled on it. As he thought, it wasn't locked. He pushed on the door, opening it, and stepped inside.

"Um..." He glanced over his shoulder as Haruka's voice drifted in from outside. She was hovering at the threshold. "Is this... your house?"

He smirked a little. "You think I'd just stroll into a random stranger's house?"

The slight cough that came as a reply portrayed that she really thought he might.

His expression soured. "Don't worry, kid, this place is mine. For now, at least."

It had been a slip of the tongue, referring to Haruka as a kid, and he sensed her immediate disapproval. It seemed they were both falling back into old habits.

"Come in," he continued, walking further into the small kitchen. The usual appliances were stuffed into anywhere that there was room for them. Not that he used them all that much. He wasn't one for cooking.

He flipped on the light switch, suddenly realising it would be pretty dark and Haruka would have difficulty seeing anything inside.

Haruka entered the house, closing the side door behind her. She glanced around at her surroundings, taking in the modern style of the furnishings and then returning her attention to Mamoru.

Footsteps from the hallway drew his gaze away from Haruka. When he had left the house this morning, it had been empty, but he wasn't completely surprised that they now had an extra guest.

"Welcome back," came Igawa's voice as he stepped into the light of the kitchen.

"Igawa!" Haruka gasped in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, what _are _you doing here?" Mamoru echoed, somewhat dryly.

Igawa, his braided head cocked to one side, grunted at him. "After that message you sent me, it's not as if I wouldn't be here to welcome Haruka home."

"Message?" Haruka asked. "You two have... been in touch for some time?"

"I'm going to get changed," Mamoru muttered as he pushed past Igawa. He wasn't about to start explaining everything now. Igawa could do that. Haruka should be happy with what he could tell her, and any gaps in the story... well, he could fill her in when it suited him.

He made his way up the stairs and to one of the bedrooms, ignoring the exasperated sigh from Igawa. He slumped onto the single bed, resting his cane against the wall beside it. Removing his sunglasses and plunging his world into tranquil darkness, he rubbed his fingertips over his eyelids. He felt more tired than usual. Perhaps a short nap would be good.

Haruka stared after Mamoru, a little lost for words. How should she take his sudden avoidance of her question? She hadn't been convinced about his answer earlier when she had asked him about how he had known that she had been in trouble. He seemed to be more evasive than usual.

She quirked an eyebrow at Igawa, who simply responded with a shrug.

It had been about two years since she had last seen the technological whizz. He hadn't changed much. He still had that short, braided hair, multiple piercings and tattoos, glasses, and, perhaps the feature she liked most about him, his open, expressive face. He was wearing a slightly oversized t-shirt and a pair of baggy jeans. Yep, he certainly hadn't changed much.

"I think he meant for you to answer for him," she told the man, with an apologetic smile on her face.

He aimed a surreptitious glare towards the staircase. "Yeah, looks like it."

He turned back to Haruka. "Well, before we get into that... how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine!" she replied, with another smile.

"Really?"

The smile faded from her face at that question.

"I will be," she assured him. She knew what he was inferring. Apart from the recent attempt on her life, she had practically been a prisoner for the past six years. She had always tried to stay positive though, to not let things get to her, and she was sure that she would be fine, now that she had been reunited with Mamoru.

Igawa's expression softened and he managed a half-smile. "Alright. Shall we go into the lounge? Might as well be comfortable while I do Mamoru's job for him."

Haruka nodded her assent and followed Igawa through the narrow hallway to a door on the left. She paused before walking into the living room, peering up the staircase. She had heard no movement from upstairs for some time. Was Mamoru really changing his clothes?

Mentally shrugging, she entered the living room. It wasn't particularly large, but was roomy enough to fit in two sofas and an armchair. A rather old looking television was propped up on a wooden unit in the corner of the room. It wasn't as if Mamoru could watch TV, so the picture quality didn't matter, as long as the sound was fine. A small coffee table sat in the middle of the room, completing the meagre furnishings.

Igawa sunk into the armchair, so she manoeuvred herself around the coffee table and took a seat on one of the sofas, swivelling so she was facing him.

"So?" she prompted him.

"Hmm... where to start?" he mused, toying with the material of the arm of the chair with one hand. "Guess I should begin from when Mamoru got back in touch with me.

"It was about three years ago. He called me out of the blue. Damned if I know how he got my number. At first I blew him off - I'd be in deep shit if the network found out that I'd been talking to him, but he's one hell of a persistent bastard," he chuckled briefly.

_Three years? _Then why hadn't he gotten in touch with her before now? Igawa hadn't known her exact location, E.N. made sure of that, but he could still request that they patch a call through to her.

Her thoughts were obviously displayed clearly on her face as Igawa's voice piped up again, "I don't know why it took so long, Haruka. You know how he is. He's not exactly a conversationalist. We couldn't make contact very often, but over the months we managed to get some kind of plan together. He bought this place," He waved his hand at the surroundings. "And whenever he called on me, I would come here to help figure out where you were. We found out the location of the last place you were staying at, but then they moved you shortly after. It was almost as if they knew." Igawa frowned, before shaking his head. "So, it took us a while longer to find your current place."

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. "He's been pretty obsessed over finding you, you know. I was getting kinda worried about the state of his mind." He leaned back again. "Of course, he'd never admit to it."

Haruka felt her cheeks flush slightly. She wasn't sure if Igawa was exaggerating or not. Had Mamoru really been that desperate to find her? Didn't that contradict the fact that he hadn't bothered to communicate with her?

She chewed on her lip briefly before finally speaking. "Why didn't you tell me? You could've called... or... even told me when we last saw each other."

Igawa's eyebrows rose. "Uh... Haruka... your phone calls are all recorded and you're always under surveillance. There was no way to tell you without the network finding out."

This time she did blush fully. Of course! How could she be so dense!

Igawa grinned at her. "What's in the past, is in the past, right? All that matters is what's happening now."

"Yeah... you're right."

He smiled at her before digging into his jeans pocket and fishing out his phone.

"Shit, I've gotta get heading. Can't be out too long, or the network will be wondering where I'm at."

He pushed himself to his feet, shoving his phone back into his pocket. "I'll try and drop by again tomorrow, if I get a chance. Make sure that idiot doesn't go and do anything stupid, eh?"

Haruka nodded at him. "I'll try. Thanks for coming."

She stood and walked with Igawa to the side door in the kitchen. He opened the door and turned to look at her for a moment, his expression turning serious. "You've turned into a beautiful woman, Haruka. Mamoru may be blind, but there's some things a guy doesn't need to see to simply know. Make sure he doesn't take advantage of you."

Haruka blinked at him, totally caught off guard by his words. "O-of course."

He grinned at her before stepping out into the night air and heading for the garage at the back of the house. She watched him open the overhead door, revealing a small family car. She raised an eyebrow. She had presumed he would have come here in his van. It looked so odd for him to be driving another vehicle.

After watching Igawa leave, she closed the door and headed back to the hallway. She placed one hand on the staircase banister as she contemplated whether she should go up and check on Mamoru.

There had been no noise from upstairs and she wondered just what he was up to. Walking softly to avoid making any unnecessary noise, she ascended the stairs slowly. There were no lights on in the house, other than the kitchen and living room, and she couldn't see ahead of her very clearly. As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw a short landing before her. There were five doors leading off of it. They were all closed apart from the door directly in front of her, which looked as if it led into a bedroom.

She spotted a light switch next to the open door and flicked it on, illuminating the landing and bedroom enough for her to pick out details. The only piece of furniture she could see in the room was the bottom of a bed. She took a step inside and saw that Mamoru was sprawled out on the duvet, apparently sleeping.

She stood there, by the door, for many minutes, just watching his sleeping form. He looked so peaceful like this. His usual frown wasn't there – he looked almost like a different person. The absence of his sunglasses added to that image as well.

She padded over to the bed, stopping a few steps short, not really wanting to wake him up. This room had even less furniture in it than the others she had been in. Aside from the bed, there was a single chest of drawers. It seemed practical though. The less objects in the room, the less obstacles for him to navigate around when he wasn't using his glasses. She wondered how much time he had spent in this house, alone except for his own thoughts.

She knelt down next to the bed, perching beside Mamoru's arm which was hanging half off the mattress. He must've been truly tired if he hadn't woken yet.

Now that she was closer, she could see the toll six years had taken on the man before her. He had aged well, but there were one or two more lines on the skin of his face and his hands seemed more heavily calloused than before.

She gently leant her arm next to his and lay her head on top of it, closing her eyes and listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing. His breath hitched every now and then, as if his sleep was a little fitful. She opened her eyes briefly to check whether he was okay, but he appeared to settle down again, so she relaxed once more, feeling tiredness creeping up on her.

* * *

_The walls were getting closer, closing in on him. He looked around desperately for a way out, but there was none. No door, no window, just inky blackness. No, no, no. It couldn't end like this. It couldn't!_

_He slammed himself against one wall, trying to slow its momentum. It pushed back with more than equal force, making his feet slip and slide for purchase. He banged his fists against the wall in frustration and suddenly realised that he was holding something in one of them. It was long, thin and cylindrical._

_Of course! How could he have forgotten? He grabbed the cane with his other hand and pulled, but it didn't react the way he had expected. It hadn't budged at all. His forehead creased in confusion. This was his cane wasn't it? It felt like it was._

_He explored around the handle with his fingertips, searching for the catch which kept the two parts of the cane together. It wasn't there. It was as if this was just a standard cane... not his cane... but..._

_He felt something push against his back. With horror, he realised it was the opposite wall and it was shoving him towards the one in front of him, less than a foot away. He was going to be crushed and there was nothing he could do about it. He felt the cane slip from his fingers and clatter to the floor._

_Then, suddenly, the wall in front of him was gone and he was falling forward, into yet more inky blackness._

_After what felt like an eternity, he hit bottom, his full body weight landing on his left leg. It collapsed under him and he cried out in pain. He lay there, on the unseen ground for many minutes, fists and teeth clenched, trying to control the pain that was shooting up his leg and into his abdomen. His brain used to analysing situations under pressure, he realised his leg was broken in multiple places, a mangled mess beneath him._

_His head shot around to the side. There was someone there, next to him. He couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. He no longer had his cane, so he used the only weapon at his disposal. He slid his hand from under his body and lunged for the person to the side of him. A satisfied smirk tugged at his lips as his fingers curled around a delicate neck. He flexed his fingers, tightening his grip, squeezing. A scream echoed around him, a piercing, yet familiar sound._

Mamoru awakened with a start, his eyes flying open, familiar darkness greeting him. It took him a moment to get his bearings, the cobwebs of sleep still clouding his senses. He suddenly realised something was very wrong. He could hear struggled breathing, more like choking, and then he realised the cause. His hand was around a slender neck, strangling the life from it.


	4. Eggshells

**Thorny Path**

Eggshells

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **You know, I realised one thing... our main character, a blind swordsman who kicks ass, has gone through three whole chapters without kicking anyone's ass! O.o Surely he must be going through withdrawals by now. I mean, that little whack over the head in chapter two doesn't really count, does it? :o I can feel the glares being aimed at me as I type. *makes note to amend said problem as soon as possible*

I am, by the way, no expert in swordsmanship, so should I get any details wrong, please just put it down to noobishness. Of course, please tell me what I've gotten wrong, I do love to learn. ;)

This story's received over 100 hits now! Woot! *looks at the amount of reviews* Hmm... what does that tell me...? D:

Anyway! The story must go on, and all that! Relationship development and, hopefully, some plot development incoming!

P.S. I'm running out of cookies. :(

* * *

His grip was so strong. No matter how much she pried at his fingers, they wouldn't budge. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, she couldn't even scream.

Her eyes began to water, little pools of liquid collecting at the corners and streaming down her cheeks. A burning sensation filled her lungs, oxygen deprivation starting to take its toll. _Mamoru! Stop! Let go! Please... _she mentally screamed at him, unable to physically do so.

"Haruka?" Mamoru's voice was groggy, but was tinged with a tone of alarm. He abruptly removed his hand from her neck, causing Haruka to burst into a fit of coughing. She finally managed to gulp down a few mouthfuls of air, relieving the strain on her lungs.

As the coughing subsided, she looked up at Mamoru. He was staring at her, or more exactly in her general direction. His sunglasses still lay by his side. He looked as if he hadn't moved since he had released her. She couldn't immediately identify the expression on his face. Was it guilt, or fear?

"Are you okay?" she asked him, her concern overflowing into her voice. Not only had he not sensed her presence while he had been sleeping, but he had acted violently towards her. That was something that had never happened before. She wasn't scared of him, far from it, she was worried for him.

The odd expression soon disappeared from his face to be replaced by one of anger.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" he spat at her. "I just very nearly strangled you to death, and you're asking if _I'm _okay?"

Haruka blinked at him, rubbing her throat gently. "I'm not psychic, Mamoru. I know that I'm fine, but how am I supposed to know that you're okay without asking?"

His lips parted, but no words came out. This was another first. Mamoru was speechless.

"That's not the point," he eventually mumbled, his fingers fumbling around beside him. Finding his sunglasses, he slipped them on and slid his legs off the bed, shifting closer to Haruka.

He reached a hand out towards her. "Let me see."

She dropped the hand rubbing at her throat to her side and shuffled forward on her knees to allow Mamoru to inspect her neck. She shivered involuntarily as his fingertips brushed the now tender skin of her throat.

"It's painful," he stated as he probed gently with the ball of his thumb, the calloused skin feeling rough against her own.

"Mm, a little," It hadn't been a question, but she had answered anyway. It hadn't really hurt; the reason for her shiver was something else entirely.

Abruptly, Mamoru removed his hand and stood. "It'll be bruised, but there shouldn't be any lasting damage."

He swiftly walked across the room, pausing at the doorway. "Next time, don't get so close to me when I'm sleeping."

She watched him leave the room and heard him enter another, further along the landing. She chewed on her bottom lip, absently, the warmth of his fingers lingering on her skin. She brought her hand up to her neck again. Her thoughts were a little scrambled and she tried desperately to put them into order. He had touched her so gently, so tenderly. It was something she wasn't used to and such a harsh contrast to how he had been holding her mere minutes before.

She wondered if he had been having a nightmare and if that was the cause of his reaction. She hadn't thought he would be affected by such things. He seemed to carry around an air of indifference most of the time that made it feel as if nothing could get to him, could unnerve him. _So he is human after all._ She smirked briefly at the thought.

* * *

Mamoru shut the bathroom door behind him and stalked over to the sink, flicking the cold tap to the on position, irritably. He removed his sunglasses and placed them on the unit beside the sink. He plunged his hands into the stream of icy water, hoping it might help cool his temper a little. Splashing his face with some of the cold liquid, he let his fingers linger at the intricate pattern of scars around his eyes. He wondered if they made him look like a monster. He certainly felt like one at the moment.

_Shit! _He gripped the edge of the sink with both hands, leaning heavily on it. How could he do something like that to Haruka? He could still feel himself squeezing the life from her. In that moment, she had felt so fragile to him.

Then... then he had the audacity to treat her tenderly, after almost killing her. He truly was a monster.

Yet... she had innocently asked if _he _was okay. Did she think nothing of herself? No... she was kind-hearted. That part of her hadn't changed from the past, at least. She always put others before herself, even in such absurd situations. They really were like chalk and cheese.

He straightened up, pushing himself away from the sink and feeling for the towel on the rack beside him. He would just need to keep his distance from her for a while. He was still pretty messed up and Haruka deserved to be treated better than he could manage at the moment.

Drying his face and hands, he turned to fetch his sunglasses. He inhaled sharply as his leg nearly buckled underneath him. He took a moment to steady himself before glaring down at the offending limb. It was still giving him problems even six years after the injury.

He groaned inwardly as he remembered the surgeon who had operated on him had said that he would probably suffer with weakness in that leg for many years to come, perhaps for the rest of his life. Perching on the side of the bath, he rolled up the left leg of his jeans to his knee and massaged the skin around the joint. It was aching now, but the pain was manageable. He paused as he felt the uneven scars under his fingers.

He hadn't stepped inside an elevator since that incident. His unease about them before had only multiplied. His quick thinking and instinctual reactions had saved his life, but they hadn't prevented his left leg being crushed in the debris. The hours after that had been a blur of pain and exhaustion. He had somehow managed to drag himself out of the building and to a private clinic. With a little 'persuasion', the resident surgeon had agreed to operate on him, to correct the multiple breaks. He had been lucky, in a way, the breaks had been clean, and there hadn't been too many problems setting them. He ended up having to return for two consecutive surgeries, but he recovered much faster than the doctor's estimates. His body had been in peak condition, combined with his indomitable stubbornness, he had been walking again within a few months and without a limp within a year.

The surgeon had been right about one thing though, his leg was still weak, and if he couldn't rectify it, he knew it would be fatal one day, much more so than his blindness had ever been.

Of course, he wouldn't let anyone else know about his little secret. Showing weakness was a sure-fire way of inviting trouble, parading it around would just get him killed. He let out a sigh as he rolled the leg of his jeans back down and pushed himself to his feet. After a moment, he found his glasses and slipped then back on.

He reached for the door and opened it. It was probably well into the night now. He wasn't sure how long he had slept for, but couldn't imagine it being for more than an hour or two. It would probably be a good idea to get some food and then for the both of them to head to bed.

* * *

Igawa slouched back in his plush leather chair, scanning over the data on the screen. His gaze flicked from the monitor directly in front of him to the secondary monitors on either side. He was observing the progress of the team he had recently been assigned to, but his mind wasn't completely in it.

He had been keeping an eye on E.N. communications, checking to see what they would do about Haruka's disappearance. There had been surprisingly little reaction to it. An informational mail had been sent informing one of the departments that some Kuroki guy had been taken to a local hospital and they wanted him transferred or something similar. All departments and teams had been notified that Haruka was missing and to keep an eye out for her, but there was no set plan of action. This worried Igawa. He was sure she was more important to them than conducting a half-assed search would imply. If he was right, they would indeed be organising a more detailed investigation, and were just keeping it from prying ears. This meant that they suspected someone within the organisation was involved with her disappearance. That didn't bode well for Igawa.

He would need to be more careful when contacting Mamoru, and he certainly couldn't go to see them in the near future. Igawa frowned at that notion. That guy had seemed a little volatile recently and he wasn't sure if he would go on a killing spree in his absence, or not. Still, Haruka was with him now, she should offer him a sense of equilibrium... he hoped.

"Igawa? Igawa, what the fuck are you doing?" an angry voice buzzed over his earpiece.

_Shit. _He hadn't been paying attention.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on, man," he replied casually, as if the guy was overreacting.

* * *

Haruka groaned and turned over as she realised sunlight was filtering in through the partially open curtains. She snuggled further under the blankets, trying to hide from the fact that it was already morning. _Damn it. _She was already awake now. It would be difficult to get back to sleep.

Resigning to defeat, she tossed the blankets off of her and rolled to a sitting position. She immediately regretted doing so all in one go, as every muscle in her body started to ache profusely, some she hadn't even realised she had.

She shuffled forward slowly, settling her feet on the short, cut pile carpet. She glanced around the room, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. It looked a little different during the day. The bedroom she was in now was next to the one Mamoru was using last night. It was about the same size, but sported a double bed and a double wardrobe, complete with full-sized mirrors. It was obviously meant to be the master bedroom and she wondered why Mamoru didn't use it.

Pushing herself to her feet, she trotted around the bed, pausing in front of the wardrobe to glance at her reflection. _Oh dear... _She had a nasty case of bed hair. She used her hands to try and flatten some of the stray strands of blonde hair that were sticking out at odd angles, frowning disapprovingly. Her eyes strayed downwards, and the frown faded from her face, replaced by a growing smile.

She was wearing one of Mamoru's t-shirts that she had swiped from his chest of drawers. It wouldn't have been very good if she had slept in her clothes, now would it? The plain white t-shirt with blue bands around the arms came down to her thighs. It was a decent piece of nightwear - it covered all the appropriate places. She had been a little disappointed that it hadn't smelt of Mamoru, but the freshly washed scent wasn't bad either.

She briefly inspected her elbows and saw that they had begun to scab over and didn't hurt nearly as much as they had yesterday. Satisfied that all was well, she exited the bedroom, aiming for the toilet. The washing facilities were set up oddly in this house. The toilet was in a separate room from the sink and bath. Not entirely efficient, she thought.

As she padded along the carpet, the bathroom door at the end of the landing opened and Mamoru stepped out, wearing a t-shirt, loose tracksuit bottoms and his sunglasses, a towel slung over his shoulder. He stopped in his tracks as he spotted her.

"Morning," she greeted him, smiling happily.

His expression soured. "What do you think you're doing?"

Haruka blinked at him. "Going to the toilet?"

A look of disbelief passed across his face. "Why are you walking around dressed like that? In _my _t-shirt!"

She glanced down at herself and resisted the urge to pout. "I thought you wouldn't mind. Do you want it back?" She gripped the hem of the t-shirt, watching Mamoru expectantly.

"Do you have no self-awareness?" He threw the towel at her, which landed on her head and flopped over her face. She caught it with her hand before it slid to the floor. Re-arranging her hair, which had been dragged into her face with the towel, she glanced back up at Mamoru.

"I'll take that as a no, then." She smiled at him innocently, before proceeding into the toilet. He shook his head at her as she passed.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, when she was washing in the bathroom, that she realised what Mamoru must have thought when she had offered the t-shirt back to him. The blush that heated her face spread to the tip of her ears. He thought that she'd meant to take it off right then? She brought a hand to her mouth. She had just come across as a complete tease. She was mortified.

Would it be more embarrassing to try and explain to him, or to leave it unsaid? She couldn't decide.

She finished up in the bathroom and, making sure the coast was clear, made her way swiftly back into the master bedroom. She looked miserably at her dirtied and scuffed clothes that were heaped in a pile next to the bed. She couldn't really wear those again. She glanced around her. Not that she had anything else to wear.

Chewing on her bottom lip, nervously, she tentatively walked back out onto the landing again. She peered into Mamoru's bedroom, but he wasn't inside. He must have gone downstairs. She rolled her eyes. She had better ask before borrowing any more of his clothes.

Leaning over the banister that acted as a barrier to stop people stepping off the edge of the landing and falling to the floor below, she looked down the stair case and at the small section of the hallway below. He was nowhere in sight.

"Mamoru?" she called out timidly. There was no response so she tried again, this time a little louder. Again, no reply. Had he gone out?

She crept down the stairs, keeping her ears and eyes open. As she descended the last step, she heard movement from the living room. She frowned. Mamoru had good hearing; he should have heard her calls from there.

She took a step into the lounge and peered around the door, so that anyone inside the room would only see her head. Mamoru was sitting on one of the sofas, leant forward, his forearms resting on his knees. He had changed into jeans and a long-sleeved top. He appeared to be deep in thought.

"Mamoru? I called you from upstairs."

"I heard," he replied without looking in her direction.

He deliberately ignored her? Irritation flared up, quickly replacing any signs of her earlier embarrassment. She stepped into full view, a look of indignation on her face.

"You were the one who said I shouldn't walk around like this, yet you forced me to come down here. Why? Because I borrowed _one _t-shirt without asking? That's rather childish, don't you think?"

He turned to face her. His eyebrows had pulled together to form a frown, but he didn't reply.

She sighed at him. "Look, you misunderstood what I meant earlier. I would've given the t-shirt back to you _after _I'd changed." She felt her cheeks flush slightly again, at the reminder.

"It's just a t-shirt. I don't care about that." His tone was irritatingly indifferent.

"Then what is it?" she asked, annoyed that she was the only one getting angry. The way he had said it was 'just a t-shirt' made her feel utterly stupid for getting upset over something like this.

"Nothing. What did you call for?"

She felt like screaming. He was being completely evasive again. His moods seemed to flip-flop randomly these days - something that was very different from the Mamoru she knew six years ago.

Swallowing her ego, she calmed herself to the point that her anger wasn't showing in her voice. "My clothes are pretty much ruined. I wanted to ask if I could borrow some of yours."

She saw his mouth twitch, but wasn't sure if it was the start of a smile, or something else. "Yeah, sure. Just make sure you borrow more than a t-shirt."

"Of course, I don't make a habit of walking around half naked," she replied with mock indignation.

His expression softened as she turned to head back up the stairs and she managed a smile. A few thoughts were starting to niggle at her more and more, the longer she was in Mamoru's company. His moods seemed a little erratic and she desperately wanted to know the cause of that. Coupled with the nightmare and his reaction last night, she was beginning to think he had been through something particularly hellish while they had been separated. She was determined to worm the details out of him. She knew it wouldn't be an easy job, but she would be damned if she'd let him evade her for much longer.

Ascending the stairs, she walked into Mamoru's bedroom and started going through his chest of drawers, looking for some items of clothing which might be more her size. The top didn't really matter, but she didn't really want to walk around holding the waistband of some pair of trousers or jeans all day.

She eventually found a pair of black sweatpants that had a cord in the waist that she could tighten and tie. The legs were miles too long for her – she certainly wouldn't be winning any fashion awards any time soon. She slipped them on, totally dismissing the idea of donning any underwear. She grabbed another t-shirt from the top drawer, a grey one this time, and headed back to her own room.

After she'd changed into the fresh top, she folded the white t-shirt neatly and placed it on her pillow. She cringed at her reflection in the mirror. This would certainly be a good way to prevent what Igawa had warned her about from happening. With her un-brushed hair, oversized t-shirt and sweatpants with the bottom part of the legs bunched around her ankles, she looked like an out of work rapper, or so she would imagine one to look like.

Turning away and putting the image firmly out of her mind, she headed back downstairs. Mamoru was no longer in the living room, so she walked through the hallway, looking for him. She didn't find him in either the kitchen or the small adjoining dining room. She shrugged, supposing he must have gone outside.

She rubbed her hands together as she re-entered the kitchen. Time to prepare some breakfast...

* * *

Mamoru stood in the sheltered garden at the back of the house. He had chosen this particular home to purchase because of its seclusion and privacy from any neighbours. There were also two entrances into the grounds; the driveway from the front which most people would use, and the gate at the back, which was wide enough to fit a vehicle through. It led onto what was pretty much a mud track, but it would be a good escape route, should it ever be needed.

Mamoru widened his stance and lifted his cane to his side, his right hand curled around the handle, his left hand gripping further down. He bent his knees slightly, adjusting his centre of gravity. Inhaling deeply, he tried to clear all other thoughts from his mind.

In a fluid motion, he flicked the thumb of his left hand against the catch near the handle and pulled gently with his right, releasing the modified katana from its sheath. As the weapon slid out about halfway, he twisted his hips slightly and pulled back on the sheath with his left hand, fully freeing the blade and allowing it to swing in a graceful arc to his right.

His movements picked up speed as he made a vertical slash, then sliced diagonally upwards to his left, twisting his wrist to adjust the angle of the blade. Soon he was lost in the rhythm and routine of the kata, the familiar feel of the weapon in his hand, soothing in its own way.

His mind drifted, against his will, back to the events earlier that morning. He had upset Haruka... again. Still, he believed that what he had said to her and how he had acted had been justified. It wasn't his fault if she was a little emotionally unbalanced, driven by hormones and who knows what else, right?

He cursed under his breath as he put too much force into his swing and nearly overbalanced. Who was he kidding? That didn't sound like Haruka at all. She had never been ruled by her emotions. That was what had been so unsettling about her. She hadn't acted like a little girl, had been all too calm in situations which most adults would have been panicking in. Her pre-cognitive abilities no doubt had something to do with that, but it was a part of who she was, and he highly doubted she had changed that much over the years. Was it him then, who was unbalanced?

Reversing his direction, he swivelled on his back foot and felt slight resistance as his sword sliced through the branch of an unfortunate tree that had been within range. _Damn. _He had come out here to clear his mind, not continue to stew and inadvertently prune the nearby foliage.

He lowered the blade and relaxed his muscles. Losing himself in his swordsmanship had always been calming for him, yet now it didn't seem to help at all. He frowned. What did that mean?

He glanced up as he heard footsteps on the path leading to the back of the house. Haruka turned the corner and, as she spotted him, his glasses transmitted the data that showed him that she was smiling. That smile was so disarming.

"Breakfast's ready," she told him cheerily, as if nothing had happened between them earlier.

"Good," he replied simply. Yeah, maybe it was best to act like nothing had happened.


	5. In Vino Veritas

**Thorny Path**

In Vino Veritas

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Are you wondering what the chapter title means? Should I tell you, hmm? Well, in case you didn't know, it's Latin. It means: In wine, truth. It refers to the phenomenon that occurs when someone imbibes a lot of alcohol and ends up with a loose tongue. My chapter titles tend to be metaphorical in nature, so don't necessarily expect drunkenness to ensue. :P

Hmm... there seems to be more and more swearing in these chapters as the story progresses. O.o I've always refrained from using curses in my previous fics, apart from the tame stuff, but what can you do when the characters demand it, eh? :P

Over 200 hits now, that's what I like to see! Keep them coming! :D

This chapter involves mostly plot development. I thought I should include some of it, as well... you know... that's what drives a story forward and all. *cough* One can only take so much sickly sweet interaction... unless you have an extreme sweet tooth like someone we know. ;) Enjoy! :D

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far and special thanks to chibi-vale for providing me cookies on demand. :P

* * *

The following days had proven fairly uneventful. The heavens had decided to open and pelt the neighbourhood with bone-chilling rain, keeping both Mamoru and Haruka inside for the most part. Despite the incessant pattering of the weather, Haruka found herself warming to her new home.

The area was blessedly serene. There was very little traffic on the road at the end of the driveway and even fewer pedestrians. She missed her people-watching a little, but the knowledge that she was back where she belonged more than made up for that.

There wasn't a lot to do inside the house. The television was barely functional, and there were only so many radio talk shows she could listen to in one day. There were no books or magazines, as was understandable, so she busied herself with the only activity that was left to her – cleaning.

She had just finished polishing the dining room windows, leaving a lemony fresh scent lingering in the air. She wrinkled her nose. It wasn't the most pleasant smell in the world, but she hadn't had much choice of sprays to use. She would need to add that to the rapidly growing shopping list.

She walked through to the now sparklingly clean kitchen and dropped the rag she had been using into the sink. What now? She looked around, hoping a burst of inspiration would reveal itself to her. Lunch, maybe? Then again, Mamoru had disappeared several hours ago, and she didn't know when he would be back. He hadn't even told her that he was going out. She'd had to search around the house for him before realising he was gone.

He'd been secluding himself in other areas of the house from her for large chunks of time, but he'd not left her alone before now. She hadn't intruded on his privacy, thinking that he was just so used to being alone and wanted time to himself. She felt a little disappointed, after all she wanted to spend as much time together with him as possible, but she couldn't begrudge him his ways.

She stared out of the kitchen window, watching the rain sluicing over the glass. She wondered absently if there had been any flood warnings in the area, the rain seemed to be going on forever, casting the landscape in dreary, grey tones. It seemed to match her mood perfectly.

* * *

The blade slid fluidly into the concrete wall as if it were nothing more than butter. It had been a mere hair's-breadth from slicing through the ear of the unfortunate man who had backpedalled carelessly into the back of the single-storey building.

Mamoru leaned forward, gripping the wide-eyed man's collar with his free hand, and pushing him roughly against the wall. The guy reeked of tobacco and stale alcohol and he had the renewed urge to sink his katana into one of the excessively fleshy parts of his body.

The man was blubbering; small, whiny, nasal noises that were squeezed out every time he exhaled. He was really starting to get on Mamoru's nerves.

"P-please. I'll do anything. Don't kill me," he pleaded, almost incoherently.

"Shut the fuck up," Mamoru hissed at him, removing his blade from the wall and positioning the tip near the man's throat. "Nothing comes out of that snivelling mouth unless asked for. Understood?"

The man whimpered and squeezed his puffy eyes shut. Mamoru shook the man by his collar, inadvertently nicking the skin of his neck with his katana, drawing blood.

"That was a question."

"Yes!" the man yelped, opening his eyes again. "Yes, I understand!"

"Good. Now don't try and play it smart with me. I know who you are, I know who you work for and I know what happened to your boss recently."

The man opened his mouth, looking as if he was about to say something, but he was soon reminded of Mamoru's instructions as cold steel pressed against his Adam's apple.

"Now... I can't believe you've not thought about revenge. Tell me what you know about the vigilante's location, and I might think about letting you live."

He heard the tell-tale surprised inhalation. He had guessed right. The guy cowering before him was a pencil pusher, but he was in the know. E.N. had raided his boss' safe house and done enough damage to make sure he was still around when the police had arrived. He had been arrested at the hospital later. The fool had left far too much tasty evidence lying around his pad, obviously thinking himself untouchable. Still, that was proving useful for Mamoru now. The people who served under him were out for revenge against E.N. Not that they knew it was the large and well-financed organisation behind the attack, but he'd heard from Igawa some weeks before that they had been tracking his teammate, much to the techie's chagrin.

He'd received a short message from Igawa, telling him he'd be out of touch for a while. There had been no explanation, and after several days of trying in vain to contact him, he had resorted to using less conventional methods.

The man before him still hadn't responded, so he shook him by the collar again. "Spill it."

He whimpered once more before finally opening his mouth. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you."

He took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. "We hired a pro to sniff the guy out. I had my doubts, but he turned out to be pretty good. Within a couple o' days he had picked up his trail. Seemed he was a slippery bastard though. Then the guy went AWOL for like a week. He contacted the lads yesterday and told him he'd gotten an address for 'em."

He'd been talking too fast and now he paused, panting.

"What's the address?"

The man's eyes widened again. "I-I don't know. I don't have it on me."

Mamoru didn't reply, watching and listening to the man's reactions. He was breathing pretty erratically, and the scent of sweat was starting to overpower his other vile smells. It didn't seem like he was lying though. Letting go of his collar, he reached down and patted the side of the man's trousers, eliciting a little yelp from his captive's lips. He smirked at him and plunged his hand into the man's right pocket, digging out a mobile phone. He held it up before the other man's face.

"Then you'd better get it, hadn't you?" his tone indicated that it wasn't a request.

The man tentatively reached up for the phone. Mamoru dropped it into his palms and he fumbled with it before steadying his shaking hands. He observed him closely while he pressed the keys of the number pad, watching for any subterfuge. The man lifted the phone to his ear, and Mamoru could hear the electronic ringing clearly from his position. Someone picked up on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, it's me." Mamoru was impressed with how calm the man's voice was. It was amazing what people could do to save their own skins.

"No, no, everything's fine. I just needed that address." There was a pause before Mamoru noticed the guy in front of him tensing up significantly.

"Huh? You mean you're already on your way there? But, I thought-." He had obviously just been interrupted by whoever he was speaking to.

"Okay, fine." The call ended and he lowered the phone.

"Well?" Mamoru was getting impatient.

The man swallowed loudly before speaking. "Yeah, I got it, but the lads are already on their way over there. There's no way you'll be able to beat 'em there."

Mamoru's eyes narrowed. That could prove to be a complication.

"If I'd needed your advice, I would've asked for it," he said dryly, lowering his sword. "Give me the address."

* * *

Igawa leaned forward in his chair as his VoIP software bleeped, informing him that a contact had come online. The service was fully anonymous, as was required by E.N. and those who chose to use them. The only piece of information on the display was the location of the contact, Tokyo in this case.

He grabbed his headset from the desk and slipped it on.

"Yeah?" he said simply, waiting for whoever it was to speak up.

"Thought you might be interested in this. Your teammate's not around tonight, right?"

Igawa frowned. The voice was distorted, so he couldn't recognise it, and whoever it was seemed far too well informed. He wasn't about to hand out free information though, in case they were bluffing.

"Interested in what?"

He thought he heard a snort in response, before the distorted voice spoke up again. "There's something big going down tonight. The Elements Network laid a little trap for some rats that were sniffing about. For some reason, it seems you were left out of the loop. Quite a few teams are involved, including yours and some Wall members. Also... it looks like your friend's on his way."

It seemed like this person wasn't so well informed, after all. He'd only been assigned to this team a short while ago, barely long enough to get to know any of them, let alone call them his friends.

A knowing smirk passed across his face but it soon faded as realisation dawned on him. Maybe they hadn't been talking about any of his team at all. _Crap. _

"Hang on a sec," he breathed down the microphone, his mind trying to wrap itself around the situation. "Where is this happening?"

"Check your mail."

Another beep informed him that the contact had just gone offline. _Sneaky bastard._ He practically tore the headset off and pushed himself and his chair into a slide, gliding across the floor to the keyboard and monitor to his left.

He tapped away at the keys, bringing up the e-mail software and scanning down the list of recent entries. There was one unread message from an unknown sender. Opening it, his eyes widened at the information it contained.

"Aw, shit."

* * *

Mamoru stepped over yet another body. It was the third one he had come across and he was beginning to think he'd chosen the wrong route. He knew he wouldn't reach the industrial area ahead of the Yakuza thugs, but he'd hoped to get to the target warehouse before the fighting ended at least. It would be a huge waste of his time if he arrived there after the E.N. lackeys had scattered to the four winds.

All the bodies he had passed had been unconscious Yakuza. He recognised all the tell-tale signs of E.N's modus operandi. Something was definitely off though. He was still a few minutes away from the warehouse, yet the thugs looked like they had been ambushed. They hadn't even had the chance to draw their weapons. It was almost as if they had been expected.

Mamoru crept closer to the nearby storage building, keeping in the shadows that would be cast by its high walls. He couldn't be too careful. Whoever had taken the Yakuza out was no doubt still in the vicinity, though he couldn't detect their presence at the moment.

Two paths stretched out before him. He could turn the corner to his right and take the shorter route to the warehouse, or he could skirt around the compound, sticking close to the metal fence, to enter via the west gate. He decided on the latter as the Yakuza had no doubt opted for the quicker of the two routes which would most likely be watched more closely now.

Before moving any further, he listened intently for any sounds from the warehouse. If any fighting had been ongoing, the sounds would have carried on the air to this distance at least, but he could hear none. Was it already over?

With a quick glance around the corner of the storage building, he confirmed that there was nobody in sight and ran for the cover of the fence opposite him. There were a few smaller buildings in the compound, more huts than anything, which blocked the view of the warehouse itself. Not that his sunglasses would have portrayed a very accurate image at this distance anyway.

As he neared the gate, he slowed his pace. He shifted his cane into his left hand and crept closer, his senses on full alert. He heard some shuffling from within the compound and trained his eyes on the source. The information being relayed to him told him that a prone figure was dragging itself on the ground towards one of the small concrete huts, in a very slow, deliberate manner. Sticking close to the fence, he kept his body low, bending his knees and putting most of his weight onto the outside of his feet as he walked, making sure his steps were almost silent.

As he neared the hut he could tell the figure was one of the Yakuza thugs. He'd obviously been injured and was trying to seek some cover, some form of safety. A few steps away from the oblivious man his keen hearing picked up the distant clatter of metal on stone. He resisted the urge to look. Judging by the angle and distance, it came from the roof of the warehouse. A sniper?

As he had thought – it had been an ambush, and it looked as if the E.N. guys were still about. He'd probably already been spotted. He peered down at the thug in front of him who was still unaware of his presence, even though he was just a few feet away. _That's unlucky for you, pal._

He stepped forward, and swung his cane ahead of him, the handle impacting solidly against the side of the thug's head, knocking him cleanly unconscious. He slumped the rest of the way to the ground without a sound. It wouldn't do to have him mistaking him for someone he wasn't and shoot him in the back.

Mamoru straightened and began to walk, in full view, towards the entrance of the abandoned warehouse. He spotted two snipers on the roof, their weapons trained on him. To his right, peering around the side of the furthest hut, was another E.N. goon, pistol drawn but not aimed in his direction.

His pace didn't falter. He was fully confident he could evade any attempts those three could make at subduing him. They would be using rubber bullets, to prevent any fatalities, which only gave him more of an edge.

The huge metal sliding doors along the front of the warehouse were slightly open, revealing several unconscious forms sprawled out on the floor - the rest of the would-be avengers. The interior of the building seemed surprisingly barren, apart from the few other individuals he could see, standing inside. Not only had it been an ambush, but the location had been a complete set up too. Mamoru smirked. The Yakuza wouldn't have known what had hit them.

He held his cane loosely in his left hand as he stopped in between the two large doors. He knew he had the attention of those inside. He counted five of them, added to those outside that would make eight. Those numbers weren't so bad.

He frowned as he noticed some of the equipment two of the men in front of him were wearing. The light body armour was the first feature that caught his eye, followed by the combat packs and well-known form of their fatigues. Were they Wall members? His glasses hadn't identified them as such, the data for all known members had been pre-programmed into them, but it had been a while since that had been updated, so it could have been out of date.

"Blade," The quiet statement came from the left of the two supposed Wall members. It had been intended for his comrades' ears only, but Mamoru's enhanced hearing had picked it up easily.

Blade had been his codename, back when he had worked for the Elements Network. Well, more exactly it had been the codename for the team he was a part of, but as Mamoru was the more visual member, it had tended to be applied purely to him.

The men, who were gathered in a group in the centre of the warehouse, parted slightly, the other Wall member walking forward a few steps between them. He raised his weapon, a modified semi-automatic rifle, and aimed it towards Mamoru.

"You were supposed to be dead."

Mamoru smirked slightly. "I don't die that easily."

"Just like a cockroach, eh? What made you crawl out of the woodwork now? Was it you behind the disappearance of the pre-cog?"

He wasn't about to start chatting amicably with these guys. He made no move to reply, instead adjusting the hold on his cane while watching the movements of the men in front of him carefully.

The soldier aiming the weapon at him seemed edgy, nervous. Mamoru could hear his slightly erratic breathing. He must be new to the Special Forces unit, still a bit green around the collar.

He heard movement behind him and, without turning, he focused his senses towards the source. Heavy booted feet strode over the concrete with the kind of strong step that exuded confidence. Recognition niggled at the back of his mind but he couldn't quite place it. He couldn't sense any killing intent, so didn't turn to face this new threat, considering the men before him more dangerous at the moment.

"Stand down." The command came from the man who was approaching from behind Mamoru. He could tell it wasn't directed at him, but to the men in front of him.

He looked over his shoulder briefly. That voice had sounded all too familiar. His eyes narrowed as his glasses confirmed his suspicions. Alpha.

This was one man he didn't want to have to fight. Alpha was the leader of The Wall. He had extensive combat experience, having served time in several different Special Forces units around the world, including the SAS and the Green Berets. He was one of the few people on the planet he had respect for.

If he had been so inclined, he could have seen a friendship forming between them, before the shit hit the fan six years ago. They had worked together on multiple occasions, and although they didn't see eye to eye on each others' methods, their goals were the same... back then.

Today was a whole different story though. The Wall worked under E.N's guidelines. If he was considered to be a dangerous criminal by the network, he would be treated like one by The Wall too. He was pretty sure Alpha was included in that as well.

The tall man strode past Mamoru without as much as a glance in his direction, his attention focused on his subordinate in front of him.

"Did you not hear me, Victor? I said, stand down." Alpha's voice took a hardened tone as he noticed the gun hadn't been lowered.

Victor, obviously the codename of the man who had stepped forward earlier, hesitantly dropped his weapon to his side, with a mumbled, "Yes, sir."

"Blade," Mamoru's attention slid back over to Alpha as the man called his codename. "You shouldn't have come here."

The Wall's leader turned to face him. His arms were crossed casually over his chest, but he could see his gloved fingers were lingering at a convenient distance from his shoulder holster and his gun.

Mamoru adopted his usual disinterested expression.

"This doesn't really seem like your style, Alpha." He received a frown in reply. "Cleaning up other people's mess. That's what this is, isn't it?"

He heard an indignant grunt from one of the men next to the other Wall members before he stormed forward. Victor held out his arm, blocking his path, whispering a hushed, "Calm yourself."

Mamoru smirked. So that was Igawa's teammate. That reaction had been too easy to taunt out of him. He wondered what made him worthy enough to be partnered with the techie. His shorter than average height and light build certainly wasn't anything special.

Alpha hadn't responded to his goading. "The way I see it, some rookie fucked up and got tailed. Now E.N's in a panic that their activities might be found out and on the off chance they called you in to cover their ass. How am I doing so far?"

A smile pulled at Alpha's lips. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"The only thing I don't get is why you actually came? Have you become just another of their dogs, barking obediently at their beck and call?"

Mamoru sensed the anger that passed through Alpha briefly before he forcibly calmed himself. He had hit a nerve. He let his cane slip part way through his fingers as he bent his arm and hoisted it up to rest against his shoulder, noting the twitch of Alpha's hand as he did so.

"So, how we gonna do this?" he asked, as another smirk formed on his lips.

Alpha let out a sigh. "I'd prefer if you'd come with us quietly, but I don't see you doing that."

The Wall's leader glanced back over his shoulder at his men, before returning his attention to Mamoru. "It would be better if my men didn't have to die needlessly. I've received no orders to capture you. If you walk away now, I won't stop you."

Mamoru lowered his cane, the smirk fading. He hadn't expected that answer. Even if he hadn't received any specific orders, Alpha could think perfectly well by himself. He'd know that E.N. would want him out of their way. That was their intent six years ago, it would be the same now. So, why was he offering to let him go so easily? Perhaps he wasn't such a mindless minion after all. Still, Mamoru had no intention of leaving empty handed.

"I'll consider it," he replied at length. "But first, I was looking to say hello to an old friend. Maybe you could deliver a message for me?"

"I don't think it would be in their best interest to have any kind of contact with you, Blade."

They were both being deliberately vague, but he was sure that Alpha would understand who he was talking about, especially if his suspicions about the man's motives were correct.

Mamoru suddenly spun on his heel as his senses screamed at him of incoming danger. He heard a distant whooshing noise as his eyes locked on the source of the threat.

"Get out of the warehouse!" he yelled at the men inside.

"What?" exclaimed the other Wall member.

"RPG!" he explained hastily as he began to sprint away from the targeted building, his eyes still locked on the airborne explosive device.


	6. Common Ground

**Thorny Path**

Common Ground

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **I hope no-one was disappointed with the lack of interaction between our two main characters last chapter. I'll make up for it, I promise!

Time to bump the rating up to M. There's some fairly violent scenes coming up, and there will be _other_ things later that will require the rating to be increased anyway, so now's as good a time as any!

For your information, I'm from the UK originally, so I might use terminology some of you are unfamiliar with, such as the names of some parts of a car, etc. If you come across anything that leaves you wondering, all I can say is... google is your friend. :D Of course, I'd be happy to explain if needed, so feel free to send me a message if you feel stumped. ^^

This chapter may prove to be a bit difficult to follow, but it will all come together neatly and be explained, so don't fret. ;)

Thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing. You give me the encouragement I need to keep going. :D Now, please, enjoy the chapter. :)

* * *

Haruka eyed the small digital radio that was sat on the unit next to the cooker, with some disdain. It wasn't as if she was upset with the plastic device though, she was annoyed at the time it was displaying. Four digits in a bright red colour showed her that it was eight minutes past ten. In the evening!

Finally getting too frustrated, she huffed and turned around, putting the image out of her mind. Just where the hell was Mamoru? She had decided she would concentrate on being angry with him, otherwise she'd be worried sick. The absence of her abilities was truly starting to get to her. Her stomach lurched every time she thought that something might have happened to him. The fact that she wouldn't know, even if it had, made the sensation infinitely worse.

Her gaze drifted through to the dining room and the spread that she had laid out on the table. Fish cooked in ginger and vegetables, steamed rice and a few dipping sauces. It had gone cold hours ago. She knew that she had been excessively optimistic when she had started on dinner, but now that it had gone to waste, she couldn't help the sinking feeling that overcame her.

With a sigh, she walked out of the kitchen heading for the staircase. _I guess I'll just go to bed._

As she was about to ascend the first step, a wave of nausea passed over her and she had to cling onto the banister with her right hand to steady herself. It faded quickly, leaving her wondering about the cause.

As she straightened up, she felt tingling at the back of her eyes, almost like pins and needles. She rubbed at her eyelids with her fingertips, distractedly. Maybe she was more tired than she thought.

Suddenly a blinding, streaking pain shot through her head, swimming over her senses like molten lava. She reeled backwards as her fingers threaded through her hair, palms pressing against her skull. She opened her mouth to scream, but her voice failed her, coming out as more of a strangled whimper.

She felt her knees buckle and her vision tilted as the floor came up to meet her, the world falling into blessed darkness.

* * *

Mamoru had watched as the rocket propelled grenade hurtled towards the warehouse. Whoever had fired it had certainly known the best place to aim. It had impacted against the roof, hurling debris outwards and causing a large section of the top of the building to cave inwards, raining steel and shattered corrugated panels on the men still inside.

One of the two snipers had been caught in the explosion, but the other had the foresight to leap from the building a few seconds before the impact. It was a high drop, but he probably would have survived.

Mamoru had ducked behind one of the huts, making sure he was well out of the way of any stray flying debris. As soon as the projectile had hit, his eyes were searching for the source, the location of the rocket launcher itself. RPGs were moderately destructive weapons, but they left a smoke trail when launched that could easily be traced back to the person firing it. If they knew what they were doing, and it appeared they did, they would have moved as soon as the warhead was away, reducing the likelihood of being spotted.

Mamoru was now running to the last known location of the shooter. His glasses had converted the noise of the weapon firing and travelling to its destination into a sound trail, much like the visual path Mamoru would see when bullets were fired. It had led back to the rooftop of a squat building in the next compound over. The RPG didn't have a huge range, so it would make sense to fire it from nearby to increase accuracy. He had seen a figure just dropping from the roof, out of his view, so he hoped he could still catch them.

Not bothering to waste time and head for one of the two gates, he drew his katana and cut through the fence with three consecutive slashes, directly opposite the building, kicking it with his boot to dislodge it, and diving through the gap he had created. The wire fence clattered disturbingly loudly as it fell to the ground, causing Mamoru to cringe slightly as his feet hit the ground running and he rushed for the relative safety of the side of the squat building.

Throwing his back against the wall, he strafed along it, listening intently for any sound that would tell him the location of his target. He heard hurried footsteps some distance away. He didn't get a chance to see the shooter's height or build from the glimpse of them earlier, so he wasn't fully confident that it was them, but it was now pretty late at night and the only other people who should be in the area were the E.N. and Wall guys who were back in the opposite direction.

The footsteps were getting further away, so he pushed himself away from the wall and turned the corner of the building, revealing a large, open expanse of tarmac. It was bordered on one side by a high wall, which encircled the entire industrial area. At the opposite end from Mamoru, he spotted the figure, male from what he could see, sprinting towards a parking lot.

He broke into a run, chasing the man. There were still one or two cars in the lot and if the guy reached them, there was the possibility he could hotwire one and escape. Mamoru may be fast, but he certainly had no hope of outrunning a speeding vehicle.

The shooter seemed to be burdened with something as Mamoru was catching him quite easily. As he drew closer, he saw the rocket launcher strapped to his back. He hoped it was the single use kind as he didn't particularly relish going up against its firepower.

The man looked over his shoulder and obviously spotted him as he renewed his efforts to escape. Mamoru cursed under his breath. He hadn't been trying to hide the sound of his boots pounding against the tarmac or his accelerated breathing as he was too intent on his target.

The shooter reached the first car, a Nissan of some description, and dove behind the driver's side door, obviously trying to put some cover between them. Mamoru's glasses did their job though, extrapolating the sound reverberations and giving him a clear picture of the man, even though the vehicle was a solid obstacle.

He heard the tinkle of shattering glass as the driver side window was smashed and the man reached inside the car, opening the door. Mamoru was just a few feet away now though - he wouldn't have a chance to hotwire the vehicle.

Still running at full speed, he pushed off from his front foot and leapt onto the bonnet of the car, landing with a metallic thunk. He plunged the blade of his katana through the windshield, into the steering column and, with a satisfying gasp from the shooter, impaled the man's hand which had been reaching for the underside of the steering wheel.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," he spoke in soft, deliberate tones to the man writhing within the car, just loud enough to make sure he would hear. "You wouldn't want to make me nervous and cause me to accidentally slice that hand off."

He watched his target closely, scanning over his form. Judging by his features, he wasn't a local. His body and facial structure looked to be of Caucasian descent. He was laying half in and half out of the car, his chest resting against the driver's seat, his left arm trapped under the steering column, his right resting on the top of the wheel.

Mamoru's eyes narrowed as he noticed the man's right hand twitching. He inhaled sharply as he realised the guy was concealing a weapon in his sleeve and sunk to his knees, narrowly avoiding the bullet the man fired with a flick of his wrist. As he dropped, he pulled on his katana, slicing back and upwards, freeing it from the windshield while doing as much damage to the man's limb as possible. He rolled to his left, sliding off the bonnet of the car and quickly circling around the open door.

He lunged at the shooter with his free hand, grabbing the back of the man's jacket and practically tossing him out of the car, preventing him from recovering from the pain he had just inflicted on him and attempting to retaliate. He landed heavily on his back, the rocket launcher making the impact all the more jarring. Before the guy could react, Mamoru stomped on the wrist that was wearing the concealed gun, his booted foot bearing most of his body weight. A strangled cry echoed around the parking lot as the combined force of his foot and the metal weapon grinding against his wrist caused the bones to snap.

Mamoru peered down at the man, an expression of marked detachment displayed clearly on his face. "Are you more inclined to listen to me now?"

The sound of laboured breathing through gritted teeth was his only reply.

Still applying pressure to the man's wrist, he swung his katana over the Caucasian's face, the blade hovering just shy of his right eye.

The shooter was showing very few signs of fear, a clear indication that he was trained for this sort of combat situation – breaking him wouldn't be easy. He stared up at Mamoru, unflinchingly.

"Who are you?" He decided to start off with an easy question to test the waters.

As expected, the man didn't respond.

"Would you like to lose the use of that eye? Trust me, it won't be pleasant." The tip of his katana wavered as he spoke.

* * *

"_Mamoru?" Haruka breathed, reaching a hand out towards the man's wide, solid back. Her fingertips brushed against the thin material of his short-sleeved top. She could feel his well-defined muscles flexing beneath her fingers as he busied himself packing some items into a bag._

_He paused briefly, glancing over his shoulder._

"_What?"_

_His neutral expression had a strained edge to it, betraying the struggle that was going on under the surface._

"_You shouldn't go," she stated simply, thinking no other words could portray her wishes as well as those._

_He opened his mouth as if to speak, but quickly closed it again, frowning instead. He returned his attention to his packing, the set of his shoulders rigid._

"_I have to." His tone held a finality to it that told her he wouldn't be swayed._

_He picked up a small, flat, square object and gazed at it in his palm for many moments. Haruka wasn't sure what it was, it looked to be made of metal though. He shook his head slightly and slipped the item into his jeans pocket before zipping the haversack in front of him closed. Gripping it in one hand, he slid the bag over one shoulder and turned to face Haruka._

"_I told you not to come here today."_

_Haruka looked away, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. "I know..." she said quietly._

_She pressed her lips together into a resolute line and made eye contact with Mamoru. "But I couldn't let you go without seeing you again." She tentatively reached out her hand again, her fingers coming into contact with his chin and sliding up his jaw line, the stubble there feeling rough against her skin._

_He stared back at her, unmoving, the absence of any negative reaction giving her confidence. Raising her other hand she lifted it to the other side of Mamoru's head, holding his face gently in between her hands. She stepped forward, closing the gap separating their bodies. Her gaze dropped to his lips; they were slightly parted, an irresistible temptation for her. She couldn't let him leave without at least this, right?_

_She leaned forward, a hot tendril of anticipation curling in her gut._

_Abruptly, Mamoru's arm snaked up and he grabbed her right wrist, halting her forward momentum. "What are you doing?" he growled out, flatly._

_She flushed slightly, but didn't pull away. She had thought he would allow her this, and now she felt utterly embarrassed. Their faces were so close to each other - she could smell his musky scent, underneath the freshness of soap and shampoo. It teased at her senses, inviting her to bask in it, to lose herself in its comfort, and yet she was also being pushed away._

"_Please," she barely whispered, the word coming out as more of a breath. "If you're going to go there..." She stopped herself. Mamoru had clearly instructed her not to tell him of what she had seen. "Please allow me this selfishness."_

_He stared at her for many moments, his grip tightening a little on her arm, before finally releasing her wrist and letting his hand drop to his side. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. That one action was his answer._

_

* * *

_

Mamoru's earpiece crackled slightly and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Someone, for the first time in six years, had activated his communication frequency. Keeping half of his attention on the device, he continued to search through the pockets of the man lying unconscious on the ground. The Caucasian had proven annoyingly stubborn and hadn't revealed a single scrap of useful information. Physical coercion had been completely ineffective, and the man had been too intelligent for trickery to work.

Mamoru let out a sigh as yet another pocket yielded nothing more than lint.

"Mamoru?"

"Igawa?" Mamoru's voice held a slight tone of surprise as the techie's familiar voice buzzed over his earpiece.

"Yeah. Look, I don't have much time, so I'll say this quickly. I think I'm being watched, or the network at least suspects me of being involved with you. I need to keep under the radar, but I was given information on a counter-raid tonight. I believe you were on your way to the place it was happening at."

"Thanks for the heads up," Mamoru commented, dryly. "That ship's already sailed, though."

"Huh? What happened?" Igawa asked, his voice raising a few octaves.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," Mamoru muttered, distractedly, rummaging through the inside pockets of the shooter's jacket. "I need you to ID someone for me."

"Eh?"

"E.N's little party was crashed. By an RPG. The guy who fired it is Caucasian, about five foot nine and one hundred and fifty pounds. He looks to have some form of military background, but he didn't speak so I can't say from which country. I need to know who he is. Check the recent flight manifests first."

"Uh... that doesn't give me a lot to go on..."

"That's the best I can do," Mamoru snapped. "Considering it's your fault I'm here in the first place, you owe me one."

"What? How's it my fau-?" Igawa's indignant voice was cut off before he could finish.

"Didn't you say you had to be quick?"

A brief second of silence followed before Igawa replied. "Fuck sake, man, would a little bit of politeness kill you? Fine, I'll run it and get the results back to you somehow. Be careful out there."

With that, their connection terminated, silence descending once more. Mamoru frowned as his hand found a slip of paper in the front pocket of the Caucasian's trousers. He pulled it out and examined the outline, flipping it over in between two of his fingers. It was small, probably having belonged to a notepad at one time. There was no way he could tell if there was writing on it, so he simply slid it into one of his own pockets for later inspection.

He heard shouted commands and movement from the warehouse compound behind him. The E.N. and Wall guys must have recovered from the attack and begun to reorganise. Now would be a good time for him to slip away, to avoid any further confrontation.

With one last glance at the unconscious form on the ground, he sheathed his katana and broke into a jog, heading for the parking lot's road exit. He was sure Alpha would find the Caucasian before he regained consciousness, and even if he didn't, the injuries he had inflicted to his limbs would prevent him from being a threat in the future.

* * *

_Mamoru's hands were twisted painfully behind his back and secured there with a plastic tie. He was stood next to a plain, metallic table, a single chair tucked underneath it. The only other occupant in the small, square room, stood opposite him. He was a hulking man who looked completely out of place in the black suit he was wearing. His black hair was trimmed down, close to his head, almost looking shaved._

_Mamoru's sunglasses had been removed, his sightless eyes staring straight at the imposing man in front of him. The large man opened his mouth and his lips moved, but no words were uttered. He stepped forward suddenly and swung his fist, aiming straight for the blind man's head._

_Mamoru didn't move, didn't dodge, he simply stood there and took the hit, the fist impacting his face and knocking him backwards, causing him to slam into the wall behind him. Again, no noise came from the violent actions. It was almost as if the room was swallowing up any sound, to hide the atrocities that would happen within._

_A line of blood trickled from Mamoru's nose, slithering its way to his top lip. His mouth curled into a smirk as he pushed himself away from the wall._

_

* * *

_

Mamoru entered the property via the back entrance. It was now into the early hours of the morning and he didn't want to make his return audible by stomping over the noisy driveway. He slipped silently through the garden, the scent of wet grass hanging in the air. The rain had stopped earlier in the evening, but the ground was still completely sodden and it was very difficult moving over the lawn without splashing himself with mud, let alone keeping his steps quiet.

He eventually reached the side entrance and, with some surprise, opened the unlocked door. He had figured that Haruka would have locked the door and gone to bed by this time. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he sensed something was amiss. He hadn't particularly wanted to leave Haruka alone for this length of time, but he was fairly confident as to the safety of the house, so hadn't worried about it too much. Now though, he was starting to doubt that.

The smell of fish and ginger immediately hit his senses and his stomach growled in response, reminding him he hadn't eaten all day. He entered the kitchen, scanning the room quickly for anything out of place. He saw nothing, so closed the door behind him swiftly but silently. His sensitive hearing picked up a muffled moan from the direction of the hallway and, unsheathing his weapon, he headed immediately for the source.

He stopped in his tracks as he spotted Haruka's form lying at the foot of the stairs. His eyes fixed on that sight as his other senses searched frantically for signs of any other presence in the house.

After several moments, satisfied that they were alone, he sheathed his katana and took the few steps forward to Haruka's side. He could hear her irregular breathing, so he knew she was alive, but he had no idea why she had collapsed here. Propping his cane against the wall, within easy reach, he crouched down over her body, his fingers going straight to her neck, checking her pulse. It was steady, which was always a good sign.

She was lying on her back, one hand resting on her chest, the other to the side of her head. He gripped one of her shoulders and shook her gently.

"Haruka," he called her name quietly, but firmly.

Another moan passed her lips.

"Haruka," he repeated, louder this time.

Her eyes shot open and she inhaled sharply, gasping.

"Mamoru!" Fear and concern clearly edged her voice as her eyes settled on him. She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder, a sob shaking her delicate frame.

"W-what?" he stumbled over his words as the woman proceeded to surprise him. She was the only person he knew of who could get so close to him, initiate physical contact, without him sensing it beforehand.

"Hey," he added more firmly, recovering somewhat. He made sure his hands were to his sides, well away from Haruka's body, making it look as if she was merely hanging from his neck. He shifted on his knees, feeling more than a little awkward.

She was crying. He could hear the sobs and the sniffs, and he could feel the tears seeping through his clothes to his shoulder and neck. Wait, was she nuzzling him now? Oh, hell no! He reached behind his neck, prying apart the vice-like grip she had on him.

"Haruka, get control of yourself," he hissed at her, his tone one of warning.

She didn't struggle against him as he pulled her arms away from him. It felt like she had gone limp. Just what the hell was wrong with her? She slumped back to the carpet, her arms dropping limply to her sides. She had stopped crying at least.

"Tell me what happened." He listened to her hitching breath as she tried to calm herself. Eventually, she was back to breathing normally again and she rubbed her face with one hand.

"I-I'm sorry," she spoke hesitantly.

Mamoru frowned at her. "For what?"

Haruka's mouth dropped open. "For acting like that. So suddenly."

He cleared his throat. "Never mind that, just tell me why you were lying here on the floor, unconscious." He emphasised the last word.

"Uhm..." she paused as if formulating the words in her head first before speaking them out loud. "I was waiting for you to come back, but it got so late, so I decided to go to bed. When I came through here, I started feeling sick, and then I got this intense headache. I've never experienced anything like it before. I guess I must have passed out..." She trailed off.

"This is the first time it's ever happened?"

Haruka nodded. "I had a vision. Or well, several actually. It's like they all came in a flood, like something that was blocking them had suddenly been removed or maybe washed away."

Mamoru gazed at the woman. Was that why she had been upset? Because of something she had seen in a vision? He didn't like asking her about what she saw, especially if she was so affected by it.

"Who were they about?"

"You," she stated simply.

"Then I don't want to know the details," he replied as he pushed himself to his feet.

"I know..." her words had been softly spoken, barely a whisper. He frowned at her, sensing more meaning than the obvious in them.

He stared down at her, contemplating what she had meant, before dismissing it finally and stretching a hand out towards her. She took a hold of it hesitantly and he pulled her to her feet, steadying her with his free hand when she tottered next to him.

"Go to bed," he instructed her. "No more sleeping at the bottom of stairs."

He saw her lips curve upwards into a smile, but he noticed it looked weary and not completely honest. Haruka had gone through her life with these visions, she had learned to deal with them, so for her to outwardly show that she was shaken disturbed Mamoru.

He watched her slowly ascend the stairs and listened as she readied herself for bed, finally heading to the dining room once he had heard the bedroom light being switched off and the bed creaking as she slid under the covers. He eyed the shapes of the dishes spread out on the table. She had obviously prepared all this for them to eat even though she had no idea when he would be home. He pulled one of the dining seats away from the table and sat down, reaching for a pair of wooden chopsticks. There was no use letting it all go to waste, was there?


	7. Sorting the Threads

**Thorny Path**

Sorting the Threads

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Phew, this chapter took a bit longer to write than the others. I'm back home in Sweden now and heavily jet-lagged. I do hope this didn't affect the quality of the chapter. *keeps fingers crossed*

Also, I do try to research subjects I'm not familiar with as extensively as possible, but sources can be inexact or I could just misinterpret them, so if I do get details wrong about anything, especially other countries and such, please let me know. I don't want to be called ignorant. ;)

I have some wonderful reviewers for this fic. It must be because of the lack of popularity with this fandom, but it's always nice to receive more detailed and opinionated reviews. Thank you folks! :D Consumed By Rage and chibi-vale pointed out something that I'd like to apologise for. Last chapter, when writing the scene with the RPG, I neglected to include a full explanation for how Mamoru traced the location of the shooter. I had it all worked out in my mind, but didn't write it fully. If it caused any confusion, that's my bad. I may amend the chapter at some point in the future, but right now I'm going to focus on the rest of the story. Speaking of which, here you go! ^^

* * *

Haruka dreamt that night. For the first time in many years she dreamt of the future. It came in fleeting glimpses, not with the clarity that she had been used to in the past. There was one particular scene that was repeated over and over again, amidst the jumble of others.

Haruka woke with a start, cringing immediately when she was half-blinded by the sunlight filtering in through the window. She had been in too much of a daze the night before when crawling into bed, forgetting to close the curtains.

She stumbled out of bed and reached for the drapes, dragging them to block out the offending sun. As her eyes adjusted to the more pleasing light level, she flopped back on top of the bed covers and stared up at the ceiling. Her gaze traced the raised swirls and curves in the creamy paintwork as her mind drifted over the images she had just been dreaming.

Some of the visions had been completely random and utterly confusing, as she had no context to fit them into. Most had only lasted for a few seconds at a time, which really didn't leave her much to go on. A gesturing hand, a bird ascending into flight, rapid breathing, a sense of elation, a shimmering lake; she had to fit all the pieces together somehow, to have it all make sense.

She focused on the more complete vision that she had seen, the one which had repeated itself several times, as if emphasising its importance. It hadn't been pleasant, but she had a feeling the other seemingly random images were connected to it somehow, would give her some way of avoiding that thread of the future. Like the visions she had seen when she had passed out, it had been about Mamoru. He had been limping, putting most of his weight on his right leg, as he made his way through an open door, into a small room where Haruka had been lying on the cold floor, gazing up at him through a haze. He had picked her up, wordlessly, slinging her arm over his shoulder and pulling her to her feet. She had been unable to walk, or even speak. It felt like she had been drugged.

The scent of death had clung to Mamoru. He had taken human life. She had been sure of it. He had always avoided that whenever possible. What had happened to change that? The Mamoru in her vision had seemed different than he did now. There had been a feeling of cold anger emanating from him, seething fury that was being kept at bay by willpower alone, but which threatened to overflow. The carnage he had taken her through when they had left the room had shown her exactly what would happen should he lose control.

The vision had ended with that scene, which she had witnessed over and over again throughout her sleep. She felt her stomach acids bubbling rebelliously as she remembered the vivid imagery. She groaned, rolling onto her side and then pushing herself to her feet.

She went through her morning routine mindlessly; washing, brushing her teeth, changing her clothes and slinging her hair back into a high ponytail. Finally, mostly awake and having shaken most of the horrible images out of the front of her mind, she headed out onto the landing. Mamoru's door was open and, peering in, she noticed he was already up and obviously downstairs. She trotted down the staircase in her bare feet, pausing at the bottom as her gaze trailed along the carpeted hall floor.

"Mamoru!" she practically screamed at the top of her lungs.

She jumped in surprise as he appeared immediately at the living room door, one hand planting itself against the doorframe to stop himself from running straight into her.

"What is it?" he asked her, looking from side to side, a sense of alertness in his manner and body language.

Haruka jerked a finger towards the floor. "What is that?"

Mamoru's gaze followed to where she was gesturing. "The carpet?" His voice had dropped back into its usual low, dry tone.

"What's on the carpet!" she replied, exasperated.

He offered her a withering glare in response.

Lowering her arm, she placed her hands on her hips. "What do you think I've been doing for the past few days? I made this place spotless and now look at the state of this carpet. It has dry mud plastered all over it."

He stared at her for a few seconds before turning on his heel and disappearing back into the living room.

She glared at the spot he had been standing on, eyeing the large, boot-print shaped mud stains disgustedly in her peripheral vision. She wasn't angry about them - she wasn't that immature. She was trying to slip back into a sense of normalcy after the unsettling night she had just had. Somehow, that had managed to involve chewing out Mamoru.

She walked into the lounge and locked her eyes onto the disgruntled looking swordsman. The expression on his face clearly said, 'don't bother me'. Haruka decided it might be a good idea to not pursue the previous line of conversation. She didn't exactly want to start an argument.

Mamoru was standing in front of the armchair, his left hand stuffed into his jeans pocket. His sour expression had faded and he now appeared to be lost in thought.

"Come here," he told her, returning his attention to Haruka.

"Huh?" She was surprised with the sudden command, but did as she was told, walking past one of the sofas and stopping in front of Mamoru.

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out towards her, palm upwards. She looked down and noticed a folded piece of paper.

"I want you to look at this and tell me if anything's written on it."

"Oh, okay," she replied, picking up the piece of paper and unfolding it. It opened out into a notepad sized sheet, revealing some scrawled handwriting on the inside.

"Yep, there's something scribbled on it in black ink," she said, trying to decipher the messy writing.

"What does it say?" he pressed her.

"Uh... give me a second. It's kind of illegible." She squinted at the piece of paper and tilted it to one side slightly. "Oh right, it's just a series of letters and numbers."

"Read them out."

"J-A-7-8-8," she repeated the script slowly.

Mamoru grunted.

She peered at him. "Does that mean something to you?"

He walked past her, grabbing the piece of paper from her grip. "It's a flight code."

Haruka's eyebrows creased together in confusion. "Are you going to explain what this is all about?"

"Nope," he replied simply, leaving the room.

She let out a sigh. He was being as evasive as usual. Still, she wasn't about to let him have his way. She followed after him, up the stairs and into his bedroom. He crouched down, reaching under the bed with one arm. As he dragged an object out from under the frame he glanced back at Haruka.

"What? You gonna nag me some more?"

"No, I just..." She cleared her throat. "Look, if you're going to treat me like this, I may as well have stayed with the network. You're keeping me in this house and not telling me anything. My visions may be returning, but until they do fully recover, it's like I'm stumbling around in the dark. You may have been so used to me just knowing everything in the past, or maybe you think you're protecting me, I don't know. Whatever it is, stop it, and talk to me. If anything happens to you, it affects me too."

Silence descended onto the room after she had finished speaking. She stared defiantly at Mamoru who met her gaze. She had been clear, saying exactly what she wanted, and hadn't been too harsh about it, so it shouldn't spark off some sort of defensiveness... she hoped.

"Looks like you really have grown up," Mamoru finally said, with a sigh. He pushed himself up from the floor, perching on the edge of the bed.

"Well, seeing as you're here anyway, you can come and operate this," he placed the item he had fetched from under the bed onto the covers beside him. It was a slim black laptop.

"Operate?" she smirked at him. "You say it like it's some kind of heavy machinery."

Mamoru's expression soured and he picked up the laptop again. "I guess you don't want in on this after all."

"No no!" Haruka objected quickly, rushing over to the bed and grasping one edge of the laptop. "I'll help." She smiled at him encouragingly.

He loosened his grip on the computer, allowing Haruka to take it. "Open up the browser and turn off the damned text-to-speech. It's annoying."

Still smiling, she sat on the bed, next to Mamoru and opened the laptop, resting it on her legs. After waiting for it to come out of its hibernate mode, she chuckled briefly at the electronic sounding voice that read out at any options she highlighted.

"Yeah, it is kind of annoying." She grinned at Mamoru as she switched the feature off.

She opened up the internet browser and raised an eyebrow as it loaded the homepage. She hadn't even been aware that they had internet access in the house. She briefly wondered if Mamoru was hiding any other things from her that would help her with her boredom problem.

"Okay, now what?" she asked him.

"You got the browser open?"

"Yeah,"

"Then enter in that flight code into the search engine. Let's see what flight it belongs to."

"Let me see it again," she asked, him, peering at the piece of paper as he showed it to her. She typed it into the search box and hit the return key.

Fifty results populated the page along with a host more on subsequent pages.

"Hmm..." She browsed down the list, looking for anything relevant. "Ah-ha." She clicked on a link which directed her to another web page. "Looks like it's an international flight. It flies into Narita International at twenty minutes past one tomorrow afternoon."

"Where's it flying from?"

"Uhm... Paris."

"Paris, huh?" Mamoru leant back, putting his weight on his hands on the bed.

"What's this about, Mamoru?" she asked him, tentatively.

He turned his head towards her and after a moment, let out a sigh. "The guy who I got that piece of paper from attacked me. I don't know who he was, but he was well-trained, I couldn't get any information out of him. That flight obviously held some meaning for him, but I need to figure out what." His eyebrows knitted together. "Shit, and Igawa's gone dark, so he can't help either."

"Gone dark?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, communications silence."

A small knot of worry crept into the back of her mind. "Why?"

"The network suspects him of being in contact with me."

"Oh no, then he's in danger, right?" she chewed on her bottom lip as her mind chose that time to picture what things might happen to Igawa. She shook her head and scolded herself for being so paranoid. Panic wouldn't help.

Mamoru stood up, the mattress bouncing slightly. "You worry too much. That guy can take care of himself."

Her gaze dropped back to the laptop screen. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

She frowned as she noticed a new icon on the menu bar. "Uhm... Mamoru? You have mail."

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You have an e-mail. Do you want me to open it?"

"It's not as if _I_ can read it," he spoke as if the answer should have been obvious.

She glared at him briefly before clicking on the new mail icon at the bottom of the screen. It opened the e-mail client which had obviously been running in the background since she had powered up the laptop. The window that popped up containing the e-mail was blank.

"Huh?" She frowned, closing the window and re-opening it. Still blank.

"What?" Mamoru sighed again, clearly getting frustrated.

"There's nothing in the body of the e-mail. There's not even a subject."

"Who sent it?"

Haruka blinked at the screen. "You did... apparently."

"What the hell? Are you sure you're reading it right?"

"Yes, I'm sur- Oh wait, there's an attachment," she said as she noticed a little paperclip icon underneath the empty subject box. She clicked on it and an image opened.

"Looks like a personnel file," she murmured, scanning over the contents.

"Read it out," he told her, sounding almost like a growl.

She ignored his irritableness and returned her attention to the top of the image file. "Let's see. Name is Borivoj Dosedel, male, thirty four years old, height is five feet nine inches, weight is one hundred and fifty four pounds, birthplace is the Czech Republic, mother is-."

"Stop." Mamoru interrupted her. " I don't need to know all that crap. Get to recent history. Employment, last known whereabouts, anything like that." He shifted impatiently in front of her.

"Okay... Ah, here we go. Last employer was Steadfast Security Systems who are based in the US. Apparently he quit about a year ago and his last known location was Germany, two months ago. Oh, but it says on a note at the bottom here that he entered Japan a week ago under an assumed identity, going by the name of Jack Watkins."

"Alright. What about military experience?"

"Mm... Yep, he was in the Czech army for fifteen years and gained the rank of Master Sergeant. Oh, he was discharged two years ago, but it doesn't give a reason."

"That explains why he seemed to have a good amount of combat experience then." Mamoru mused, more to himself than Haruka.

She cocked her head to one side. "Was this the guy who attacked you?"

He glanced at her. "Yeah." He paused briefly. "Get any information you can on Steadfast Security, and if there's an address for his last known location in Germany, check if it's a residence or something else. That flight's coming in tomorrow, so we don't have much time to do this."

Haruka nodded, happy to be of some help. As she typed away on the keyboard, a thought came to her. "So, if you didn't send the e-mail, who did?"

Mamoru's lips twitched into a small smirk. "Igawa."

* * *

Igawa jolted awake as a hand gripped his shoulder and squeezed. He threw a glare at the owner of the offending limb, Callum Irvine, his teammate.

"Can't you see I'm sleeping here, man?" he whined grumpily.

Callum withdrew his hand and chuckled. "Aye, well it wouldn't have been any fun if you'd been awake, eh?"

Igawa turned back to face his computer desk and wrinkled his nose. The guy's thick Scottish accent didn't make it easy to understand him and his fondness for practical jokes made it difficult to like him. In fact, he liked the brunette even less than Dai or Mamoru, his previous two partners, and they hadn't exactly been rays of sunshine.

"You been sleeping there all night?" Callum asked, not sounding the least bit interested about the answer.

"No," Igawa snapped at him. "Some of this team actually have work to do. I fell asleep just before _you _woke me."

The Scot snorted at him before flopping down into one of the office chairs that were left unused in the room. Great, just what he needed - Callum Irvine hanging over his shoulder while he tried to work.

At least he'd managed to get the identification of the guy who'd launched the RPG last night sorted. It had taken most of the night, but he'd managed it, with a little ingenuity on his part, of course.

"Weren't you supposed to be at a de-briefing this morning?" he asked offhandedly, as he put his fingers to work on the keyboard in front of him.

"That's already over with, pal." Igawa could practically hear the grin in Callum's voice.

He glanced down at the clock on the computer screen. "Oh, shit. It's already that time?"

Callum burst into another fit of chuckling. He certainly did enjoy gloating over other people's misfortune. Igawa wondered briefly if being a sociopath was a requirement of his partner's job description.

He swivelled in his chair, peering at the Scot. "How'd it go?"

Callum had been inspecting his fingernails, for some reason, and now he glanced up. "The de-briefing? Oh, fine, fine."

Igawa rolled his eyes at him. "You know what I mean, man. What was said?"

Callum grinned at him. "Why you so eager t'know?"

"Because I was deliberately left out and I want to know why!"

His grin remained. "Ah, well, the counter-raid went smoothly, that is, until your ex-partner showed up."

"What?" Igawa feigned surprise.

"You mean, you really didn't know?"

"Of course I didn't know! I was left behind like some fucking third wheel," he spat at Callum, genuinely angry.

Callum held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Alright, alright. Keep yer pants on." He lowered his hands again, resting them on the arms of the chair. "Well, they're more pissed with that Alpha guy now, anyway. He just watched as Blade made his escape. Not that he had much choice at the time, 'cause of the exploding building, and all."

"Exploding building?"

"Aye, some other guy shot a freaking RPG at the warehouse we were in. We were lucky to make it out alive. One of the sniper lads on the roof wasn't quite so lucky."

Igawa's eyes narrowed. "Who fired it?"

Callum shrugged. "Damned if I know. Apparently he was found unconscious in a nearby parking lot. Judging by the damage done, Blade must've found him. What I don't get is why he just left him there, alive and all."

Igawa was thankful at that piece of news at least.

"Anyway, the higher-ups are gonna put a lot of manpower into finding out who was behind it. It's not every day the E.N. get shot at with rockets." Callum continued, chuckling.

"I see..." Igawa murmured. He wasn't sure why Mamoru was involving himself in this. After all, it seemed to be the network's problem, not his. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He turned back to his computer and started checking over his incoming messages. So, Alpha had let Mamoru escape, even if he had been a bit preoccupied. Perhaps he could be of some help for the swordsman and the pre-cog. He wouldn't hold his breath though. He didn't understand guys like him. They lived by some warped code of conduct that the techie simply couldn't comprehend.

Still, he'd continue to do some digging around on his own end. Now that he'd had to cut ties with Mamoru temporarily, he was sure his information gathering wasn't going as well as it could be.

* * *

Mamoru tapped a finger on the small, round table he was sitting at. Haruka was sitting opposite him, dressed in some new, properly fitting clothes. She was wearing a long, slim skirt, that came down to her calves, a fitted cardigan over a spaghetti strap top and a delicate looking pair of shoes. She looked very much the part of a dainty young woman. Mamoru wasn't sure which look he preferred. This one, or the oversized clothing. She was attracting all too much attention.

He threw a glare at yet another man who was gawking at Haruka from a table nearby. It was one of those looks that men recognised immediately from each other. It said, in simple, but firm terms, 'Back off!'. His brand of the 'back off' look was decidedly less effective because of the sunglasses, but the men appeared to take note as they stopped with their incessant staring.

Haruka, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to the attention she was receiving. She was smiling at Mamoru as they both waited in the café for their orders.

They had gotten lucky yesterday, when Mamoru had Haruka search online for details about Steadfast Security. They apparently had a website and there had been a news post about a conference in Japan that a group of employees from their branch in France were supposed to be attending. A double check of dates confirmed that it was probably more than coincidence that this particular flight had been noted down by Dosedel on the day before the conference. So, here they were, sitting in one of the numerous cafés in Narita International Airport, waiting for the flight from Paris to arrive.

They had about an hour to wait which gave them plenty of time to grab a bite to eat. A waitress tottered over to their table with two trays in her hands. Mamoru shifted his cane from his left side to his right to avoid tripping the burdened woman inadvertently. He rested it against the table as the waitress laid the first tray down in front of Haruka.

"Here you go, Ma'am, one chocolate sundae."

Mamoru eyed the tall, narrow glass that was practically overflowing with ice-cream. Surely Haruka wouldn't eat all of that...

He leaned back as the waitress placed the remaining tray in front of him.

"And for you sir, one slice of our triple-layered chocolate fudge cake."

He nodded in acknowledgement and gazed down at the modest serving in front of him. He inhaled deeply, savouring the scent. It smelt rich, and sweet, oh so sweet. Shame it was such a small piece.

"Thank you," Haruka said to the waitress as she left them.

Mamoru picked up the fork that was sitting beside the plate and sliced into the cake with a vigour one might recognise from his swordsmanship. He deftly scooped up the piece he had just separated and shovelled it into his mouth. Removing the fork, he bit down and basked in the spongy texture that greeted him. The sweet taste of chocolate mixed with fudge hit his taste buds. This may be one of his vices, but damn was it enjoyable.

He glanced up briefly to check how Haruka was doing with her sundae. He paused in his chewing as he noticed she was staring at him, grinning.

"What?" he asked her, somewhat indignantly, the word coming out half-garbled due to the chocolate coating the roof of his mouth.


	8. The Hand

**Thorny Path**

The Hand

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Huge thanks to Consumed By Rage for all her help with this chapter. I think my brain went on vacation and I was completely stuck, but she helped me out with suggestions. Thank you! :D

More plot development incoming. Do I hear cries of 'oh noes'? ;)

*hugs* to all my reviewers! You guys are great! ^^

* * *

Haruka walked out of the café with a satisfied smile on her face. It had been a long time since she had indulged in some ice cream and it had been even longer since she had seen the expression Mamoru wore whenever he delved into a particularly pleasing cake. It was an enjoyable, if brief, escape from their harsh reality.

She paused at the entranceway as Mamoru walked out behind her, his cane leading.

"What time is it?" he asked, stopping beside her.

She glanced at the nearest flight announcement board. "Just after one o'clock."

"Let's head to the arrivals area then."

Haruka nodded and slipped her hand to rest against the crook of his arm, preparing to 'guide' him to the other end of the terminal building, glancing up at his face. Her lips twisted into a smirk and she chuckled.

Mamoru peered down at her, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Oh, you have a little something..." she reached her free hand up and wiped at the smudge of chocolate that had deposited itself at the corner of his mouth, with one finger. "Right here."

He jerked his head away from her hand, scowling at her. "I can do that myself."

Haruka, still smirking, turned back towards the direction they needed to go. "Yes, because you clearly had it all under control."

She could just imagine the frown Mamoru had on his face at that moment, but he didn't retort, as she began leading them through the bustling crowd of travellers. This section of the second terminal building was particularly busy as it was close to the domestic check-in counters.

The pair were jostled quite a few times as they made their way over the polished floor. Haruka let out a sigh as she had to abruptly stop to avoid being run over by a man heaving a particularly large suitcase behind him. Some people were so inconsiderate, she fumed. She knew Mamoru would hate to be treated differently to anyone else, just because of his blindness, even though he constantly played on that fact, but she still found it unbelievable that some people could be so ignorant.

As they neared the arrivals area, she veered towards the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the runway, finally stopping next to one of the tall potted plants that were dotted along the length of the building.

"We should have a good view of all of the passengers from here," she told Mamoru.

He nodded and took a step to her side, leaning his back against the glass of the window and peering towards the arrivals lounge over the customs inspection counters.

Haruka craned her neck to inspect the announcement board that was attached to the ceiling a short distance in front of her. The flight from Paris was on time and was due to land in five minutes. It would probably take a while for the passengers to clear customs, pick up any luggage and head to the exit, so they still had a small wait ahead of them.

She let her gaze wander over the crowd of people walking by them. Most were dressed in crisp, clean suits, carrying compact sized briefcases or suitcases, obviously going on business trips, or on their way home from them. In between the dull greys and blacks was an occasional splash of colour; a mother urging her children to keep up, a young couple with their arms curled around each other, a security guard listening intently to his radio, a lone foreigner looking completely lost. She smiled a little. She had missed being able to watch people like this.

"What are you so happy about?"

She gave Mamoru a sidelong glance. "I just find people absolutely fascinating. They're so varied, yet they find themselves mingled together with others from completely different walks of life. But, they seem to take it all for granted."

Mamoru grunted. "Fascinating wouldn't be the word I'd use."

Haruka sighed inwardly. "Why do I even bother?"

She decided to keep her focus on the arrivals area for the time being and ignore Mamoru's cynical comments. She was watching a young man in an expensive suit wave his arms around heatedly at one of the service counters, when the swordsman spoke again.

"They take it for granted because it's just another day for them. They're so used to it, it's nothing special, so they don't stop to think about it. You only see it because you've been distanced from society."

Haruka blinked and turned to look at Mamoru. It was unusual for him to string more than one sentence together, especially if the conversation wasn't about 'work'.

"Or maybe it's that they don't want to see it. People are selfish. They think the world revolves around them. If their life is a particular way, then other people's lives must be like that too. If they stopped to take notice, then they might see something which shakes that belief," he continued.

Haruka leant her head against the glass of the window. "I don't think that's true. I mean, we're all aware of how one person's life differs from another. Different jobs, different countries, different educations and such."

"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about people who are deprived of basic human needs; food, water, shelter, human interaction, that sort of thing. Your average individual doesn't want to see shit like that, so if they don't bother looking in the first place, then they can keep living on in their happy little world."

Haruka frowned. That was a very pessimistic view of the world. "Then what about charities who help those in need? If we just wanted to keep on believing that sort of stuff doesn't happen, they wouldn't exist in the first place."

Mamoru snorted. "That just helps them sleep at night."

She crossed her arms across her chest. He had been using the term 'them' constantly in this conversation. "Then what makes you so different?"

"I'm not," he replied. "I'm as selfish as they come."

Haruka gaped at him. Just what was he trying to say? She didn't believe that for one minute. If he was so selfish, he wouldn't have helped her out in the first place, all those years ago and he certainly wouldn't have come back for her.

Uncrossing her arms, she pushed herself away from the window and turned to face him. "Who are you trying to fool?"

He let out a sigh before meeting her slightly annoyed look. "It's true. The sooner you come to terms with it, the sooner you'll understand."

"Understand what?"

He turned back to the throng of people. "Pay attention," he told her, nodding towards the arrivals area. "I need your eyes here."

Haruka pressed her lips together, resisting the urge to snap at him. He always did this. Controlling the conversation, saying the most obscure things and then when she asked for an explanation, he tried to steer her attention elsewhere. What was worse was that he was usually successful. She knew now wasn't the time or place for her to continue asking, so she would let it go for now, but she was coming to her last tether with his evasive attitude.

She glanced up at the announcement board again. More time had passed than she had realised. The passengers should be coming through any time now.

* * *

Jack Garvey, or Alpha as he was more commonly known, crumpled the piece of paper in his hand into a ball, putting more force into it than was perhaps necessary. He dropped it into the wastepaper bin that was beside the desk he was standing in front of.

He knew there would be repercussions for his actions, but he hadn't expected the network to go to such extremes. They had clearly been shaken by something and he was taking the brunt of it.

The Wall may have been an independent unit, but the Elements Network obviously held a considerable amount of sway, as was proven by the report he had just taken his frustration out on. The network had threatened to cut off their funding if Alpha didn't step down from his position as leader. Temporarily, they had said, until they had performed a satisfactory investigation. It was all bureaucratic bullshit to Alpha.

He didn't have much choice but to go along with it for now, officially at least. He had passed leadership over to Echo an hour ago, and was now standing in one of the apartments The Wall had in their asset list as a safe house. His unit hadn't followed him for all this time to just roll over to the network's wishes though. He knew they respected him, for which he was grateful, especially in his current situation. They would keep him informed about the headway of their current investigations and he would react accordingly. His lack of active participation would leave him a lot of free time, though.

With a sigh, he grabbed his jacket from the back of the office chair and slipped it on. He wasn't one for just sitting around and twiddling his thumbs. Making sure he had his phone with him, he headed for the door.

As he passed the mirror that was hanging in the small entrance hall he paused to glance at his reflection. His close cropped blonde hair was getting scraggly, giving him a worn out look. The long scar that ran from above his left eye down to his jaw and the few wrinkles that had appeared in the last couple of years certainly weren't helping. A wry smile passed across his lips as he couldn't help but think that he was getting old. He shook his head, exiting the apartment.

He strode along the carpeted corridor and exited the building through the glass security door that led onto a busy main street. He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, his fingers tapping against the mobile phone there as he walked. Abruptly, he stopped, pulling the phone out, and flipping it open.

* * *

"There," Haruka whispered into Mamoru's ear. "Just passing the service counter now, on the left of those two women."

Mamoru scanned the few people who were walking near the waist high counters. He spotted a group of three men, striding shoulder to shoulder, a few feet away from the two women Haruka had mentioned.

"Are you sure?" All three of the men were tall and seemed to have a Caucasian look to them, but many of the passengers who had exited the arrivals area in the past few minutes were of similar builds.

"Yes, the one in the middle is carrying a folder with the company logo on it," she replied.

"Alright, lead on. Keep some good distance from them, but don't let them get out of sight."

Without another word, Haruka started walking, gripping Mamoru's jacket sleeve. He followed one step behind her, keeping his cane tapping against the smooth floor ahead of him. His eyes flicked from the three men to the people milling about around them. He was pretty sure that Dosedel had planned on meeting them here today. Either that, or killing them. If it was the latter, then nothing out of place would happen at the airport. If it was the former, then there were two likely outcomes; someone else would come in his stead, or they would be confused as to why he wasn't here. He needed to watch them to discover which it was and decide on his next course of action.

They followed the men through the terminal building and to the exit. The crowd had thinned considerably. Mamoru directed Haruka to slow their pace to increase the distance between them. So far, they hadn't acted suspiciously in any way. They had paused briefly to inspect a large board that Mamoru presumed had a map or directions of some sort attached to it. Other than that, they had kept constantly moving.

A light breeze rustled Mamoru's hair as they stepped outside. He pulled his arm towards his body as Haruka moved to continue following the three men. She glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Wait here for a minute," he instructed her.

He saw her nod and take a step closer to his side, so he returned his attention to the Steadfast Security employees. They were heading towards one of the car parks that serviced the second terminal building. Did that mean the meeting had been planned for somewhere else? Then why had Dosedel carried the flight number in his pocket?

He frowned, nudging Haruka gently. "Let's go."

They began walking again. He couldn't let them leave the airport without gaining some kind of information from them, otherwise this would have just led to another dead end. That prospect didn't please him.

He glanced sharply at Haruka as he felt her grip on his arm tighten abruptly.

"We need to hurry," she said matter-of-factly as she broke into a jog, pulling Mamoru with her.

"Huh?" he stumbled for a step at the unexpected change of speed. "What are you doing?"

The men had disappeared around the side of a parked bus, which was just as well as the sight of a blind man being hurriedly dragged along behind a petite woman was hardly inconspicuous.

"Trust me. You'll like it better if we hurry," she assured him.

Had she just had a vision? He shook her off his arm, abandoning their facade, and quickened his pace, taking the lead.

He ran around the front of the bus the men had disappeared behind a minute before, his glasses rendering the area that was blocked from regular vision. He paused just before stepping around to the side of the long vehicle. The three men had stopped further along the bus, next to a car that was parked in the adjacent spot. He heard the click of the vehicle's door unlocking. _Shit._ They were about to leave. He glanced behind him quickly, about to tell Haruka to get behind some cover, but she had already crouched in front of the nearside headlight.

Throwing caution to the wind, he stepped out from his hiding place, gripping his cane by his side. A hushed warning and three heads turned in his direction.

One of them barked something at him, but his French was pretty rusty so he hadn't the slightest clue what he'd just said. The man who had just unlocked the car, opened the door and reached inside. Mamoru gripped his cane more tightly. They might not have been acting suspiciously before, but they certainly were now.

"Who are you?" the tallest of the three asked with a thick accent.

"Dosedel couldn't make it, so I came instead." A bluff was worth a shot.

The man who had reached into the car straightened up and said something in hushed tones to his comrades, before turning to Mamoru.

"We don't know any Dosedel. Why don't you try and play your games somewhere else?"

"Games?" echoed Mamoru. "And here I thought that you three looked like you'd be some fun." A smirk pulled at the corners of his mouth.

The man snarled and raised his hand, revealing a SIG P229 handgun, complete with silencer. "I said piss off." His thumb pressed against the safety, releasing it.

Mamoru's smirk remained. "You should be respectful when you're on someone else's turf."

The Frenchman holding the gun cursed under his breath and squeezed the weapon's trigger. Mamoru burst into motion just as the shot was fired. His sunglasses rendered the path of the bullet and he dodged nimbly to the side, grabbing the handle of his cane with his right hand as he surged forward. With a sweep of his arm, he drew his katana and sliced through the pistol, following through by jabbing the end of his sheath into the man's windpipe. He crumpled to the ground with a startled choke, the now useless weapon clattering to the floor and breaking into two pieces.

The two remaining foreigners were directly to his right now, so he swivelled slightly on his front foot and sunk his elbow into the nearest man's gut, doubling him over. He sensed more than saw the uninjured guy lunging for him. Pushing forward, he rammed his knee into the face of the man he'd just winded, twisting to avoid the arms of his attacker.

His boots scraped against concrete as he shuffled back a few steps, putting some distance between him and the last guy. His would-be assailant faltered, perhaps questioning the wisdom in attacking someone with an extremely sharp weapon with far greater range than he had. He took one step away from the swordsman before turning hastily and breaking into a run.

Mamoru growled under his breath. He wasn't in the mood for a chase. He abandoned his ideas of running after the man, though, as he caught movement behind the front wheel of the bus. When the man glanced over his shoulder, checking where his pursuer was, he offered him a helpful motion with his hand, gesturing that he should keep his eyes forward. The Frenchman's mouth opened, letting out a startled cry as his feet caught on something protruding on the ground at the side of the bus and he went flying, face first, into the hard concrete.

Mamoru stepped over the unconscious forms of the other two foreigners as Haruka picked her way around the now groaning man's body. She glanced over at him and he smirked at her.

"Good job," he said, passing her. "You saved me a run."

She crouched down, rubbing her ankle. "He was wearing hard shoes. That hurt."

Mamoru snorted before kneeling down next to the still conscious Frenchman. He sheathed his katana, slipping the cane into his right hand. With his free hand he rolled the guy over and grabbed a fistful of the front of his shirt, pulling his upper body off the ground slightly. He was breathing heavily, but it seemed the fall hadn't knocked him completely senseless as he was staring directly at Mamoru.

"So, tell me," he said slowly, to make sure he would be understood. "Why are you in Japan?"

The Frenchman's shoulders started shaking and for a moment Mamoru's eyebrows creased together in a frown as confusion swept over him. Then the guy started laughing and he scowled at him. Perhaps his initial assessment of the man's condition had been wrong.

"What's so funny?" he growled at him, tightening his grip on his shirt.

He continued laughing for a few moments before it eventually subsided.

"You think I'm going to answer a nutjob who runs around thinking he's some kind of samurai?"

The scowl faded from Mamoru's face, replaced with stone cold calm. He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't make the mistake in thinking that just because I haven't killed you yet, that I won't. I still have two more of you bastards left to satisfy my curiosity."

He heard a sharp inhale from Haruka as he spoke. He suddenly wished that she wasn't within earshot right now. The fact that he didn't know how much time he had until someone happened to walk past and see what was going on didn't help one bit.

"Check the car and search those two's bodies," he told Haruka without taking his eyes from his victim below him. "Take anything you find, no matter how irrelevant it might seem."

He heard the rustle of clothes followed by the quiet squeak of the car's suspension as Haruka did as instructed.

He slid his cane onto his lap and laid the man in his grip back against the tarmac, letting go of his shirt.

"Are you still going to be uncooperative?" With a flick of his thumb, he undid the catch near the cane's handle and slid the katana out of its sheath by an inch.

The man's breath hitched in his throat. For all his bravado a moment ago, he was scared.

"We're just businessmen," he hissed.

Mamoru snorted. "I'm no fool. Businessmen don't carry fucking handguns with them. Try again." He completely unsheathed his weapon, but left it resting against his legs.

"Mamoru!" he turned his head slightly as Haruka called his name.

She trotted over to him from the car and showed him an A4 sized thin object. "This looks like the folder they were carrying earlier. It doesn't look like Dosedel was working alone in Japan. There's details on a few other people in here besides him, plus..." she paused.

"What?" he growled at her, his gaze flitting between the man on the ground and her.

She leaned forward, her hair brushing against his cheek as she whispered into his ear.

"There's information on the Elements Network in here. Quite extensive information."

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Is that so?" He returned his attention to the Frenchman before him.

"Trying to take out the network are you?"

The man's eyes widened. "You... How do you know of them?"

Mamoru pushed himself to his feet. "What's that saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Hmm... nah, I don't think that applies here. Still, I'll let you live, for now. Do make yourself useful."

He turned, and with a click, sheathed his katana.

"Did you find anything else?" he asked Haruka.

She hesitated before opening her hand, revealing a small, flat, square object. He reached for it and as his fingers made contact, he realised it was made of metal. It was warm, after being held tightly in Haruka's grip. He took it from her and flipped it over in his palm, inspecting it.

"What is it?" He couldn't feel any seams on it. It appeared to be just a smooth square of some form of metal.

"I don't know," Haruka replied, uncertainly. "But it's important."

He glanced up at her. Another vision? Shrugging, he deposited the item in his jacket pocket. He could question Haruka about it later. First, they needed to get out of here, before they were spotted. He questioned his decision to let the three men go briefly. They were obviously involved in some plot to get rid of E.N. The network might be a thorn in both his and Haruka's side, but they did some good work. Getting criminals off the street that the police couldn't deal with wasn't a job simply anyone could do. It required organisation but more essentially, funding. The network had both. Still, the system was corrupt, and as much as Mamoru hated to admit it, he couldn't carve out the bad seeds by himself. Even though these men's methods seemed reckless and they certainly didn't care about killing any innocents, they would prove useful.

With a quick scan around him, he turned to Haruka.

"Let's get out of here."


	9. Birds

**Thorny Path**

Birds

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Well, Christmas and New Year are behind us now, so I have time to myself to write again. Yay! Hope you all enjoyed the festive season. :)

Well, it's been a while since the last update, eh? Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! As always, thank you for your kind and encouraging words. Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter. :)

* * *

The door slid shut, closing with a resounding bang.

"Hey! Watch the freaking merchandise, man," Igawa spat at the man who had just entered the vehicle.

Callum slung himself into a seat in the rear of the van and sneered at the techie. "Shut it."

Igawa glared at the Scot from the driver's seat. What the hell had crawled into _his_ pants? He was clutching his shoulder as he relaxed into the back of the chair. Was he injured? He hadn't noticed him taking a hit from his vantage point inside the modified vehicle.

He eyed the man for a few moments more before hesitantly opening his mouth.

"You... okay?"

Callum glanced up, his expression softening momentarily. "Just drive, Igawa."

He let out a sigh and swivelled to face the steering wheel. Sometimes it felt as if he was always being ordered around... and just why the hell did he simply take it? He groaned. It really wasn't worth the hassle.

Distractedly, he shoved the van into gear and pulled away from the side of the street. It was the dead of night, the roads were quiet with only a handful of vehicles passing by in the other direction as they made their way up a wide-laned, tree-lined avenue.

Igawa glanced occasionally in the rear view mirror, checking on Callum's condition. He didn't really like the man, yet he couldn't help but worry slightly if he was more injured than he seemed. He didn't look as if he was going to drop dead any time soon, though. His continued scowl and random muttering was proof of that.

Turning off of the main street and into a narrower road with several cars parked along the side of the pavement, he manoeuvred them steadily towards their safe house. It would take them another fifteen minutes to get there, but Igawa wasn't in any particular rush. The place was a little stifling and with just the two of them staying there for the moment, it felt empty. It wasn't somewhere he could call home.

He briefly went over the events of the evening, cataloguing every action, each piece of dialogue neatly in readiness for the report he would have to type and submit for the network. It hadn't been anything complicated that they'd had to accomplish. It was supposed to be a clean, in-and-out job. Mop up the scumbags and disappear. Callum shouldn't have been injured. The Scot was getting careless, Igawa groaned, and causing him more paperwork on top of that.

He found himself missing the days when he was assigned to Blade. He blinked. Why the hell did he miss working with Mamoru? He was more of a handful than Callum was. Always doing things his own way, not caring about the repercussions. At least his current pain in the ass knew how to follow orders.

Igawa floored the accelerator as the traffic lights ahead of him began to turn red, whipping through the junction at a speed that was not entirely safe.

Then he realised, it was the sense of belonging that he missed. With Haruka and even Mamoru and some of the others who had joined them briefly, the crap they had managed to crawl through together had brought them closer to each other, almost like some kind of highly dysfunctional family. He smirked a little as he slowed the van to a more legal speed. That brought to mind all sorts of strange images.

The next set of traffic lights were green, so he didn't bother to slow as he neared the crossroads. He threw a cursory glance to his right then left, in the remote chance someone would risk running a red light at this time of night. His gaze snapped back to his right as he caught a flash of metal in his peripheral vision.

In the moment it took for him to realise the flash was a street light reflecting off the side of a Land Rover, heading straight into his path, he was slamming his foot on the brake and pulling the steering wheel hard left. He heard the screech of tires as the van skidded along tarmac, flinging him into the door panel, knocking his breath from him. A surprised cry followed by a thud and a curse from behind him told him Callum hadn't bothered to buckle up.

He pulled the wheel back to the right, trying to steer into the near uncontrollable skid. His eyes widened as he struggled to bring the vehicle back under control. He didn't even have time to shout a warning back to the Scot as the van plunged headlong into the corner of the brick apartment building.

* * *

Haruka sat crossed-legged on her double bed, laptop to her side, open folder resting on her thighs. She had been scouring diligently through the file for hours now. Her eyes were beginning to get sore from staring at so much text for too long.

She shrugged off her thin cardigan, folding it and placing it next to her pillow. Straightening her sleeveless top, she stared down at the piece of paper again, blinking to stop the ink from blurring into the background.

She sighed. This really was getting her nowhere. Steadfast Security sure had collected a vast amount of information on the network, but it didn't tell her what they planned to do, nor what kind of timescale they had set out, which was exactly what Mamoru wanted to know. That left them only the names of their other 'agents' in Japan.

She flicked to the front of the sheaves of paper and began to read over the information on Dosedel and his three associates again. They were personnel records, apparently of their time in Steadfast Security's employ. There were photographs, names, personal information and work history, but no locations, recent activity, or even what their purpose in Japan was. _Of course not. That would be too easy, wouldn't it?_

She resisted the urge to sigh again. Why couldn't nefarious schemers be a little sloppy sometimes? It would make her life so much simpler.

"Well?"

Haruka jumped at the unexpected sound of Mamoru's voice. She hadn't heard him come in. She glanced over at him. He was leaning languidly against the doorframe, peering at her through his sunglasses, his short-sleeved t-shirt exposing arms that were crossed over his chest. How long had he been standing there?

She cleared her throat. "Uh, there's not a lot to go on here."

"Nothing?" he asked gruffly, uncrossing his arms and pushing himself away from the doorway.

She looked back down at the unhelpful folder as he crossed the room to her bed.

"There's information, sure, but nothing that can really point us in a solid direction. There's no aspect of the Elements Network that they've concentrated on, and there's nothing in the personnel files which tells us what the other three guys are doing in the country or where they are."

Mamoru stood to the side of the bed and tapped a finger idly against his jeans leg.

"You're sure?"

Haruka inhaled deeply and brushed stray strands of hair out of her face. "No, I'm not. I could've missed something. I'm no expert at this after all. I've read and re-read through these documents. I've tried my best, that's all I can offer."

Mamoru frowned slightly, before slipping his hand into his back pocket and pulling something out.

"That leaves this, then."

He held the small square object she had found in the car earlier that day.

"Tell me about this," he said, giving the item to her.

She peered at it while holding it between forefinger and thumb. It looked to be made of gold, or perhaps gold plated, though there weren't any visible seams. The surface was completely smooth to the touch, but when she flipped it over she saw an image imprinted on what she figured to be the top of the object. Imprinted probably wasn't a very accurate term. The swirling pattern within a square border wasn't etched into the surface, nor was it attached via a label or other means. As she brushed her thumb over it, she could feel no proof that it was actually there, other than what her eyes were telling her. It was almost as if the image was below the surface and the outer layer was transparent, allowing her to see it.

"It's a metal square, maybe gold, with some sort of strange symbol on one side," she replied after a moment.

"That's not what I asked."

Haruka glanced up at Mamoru in confusion. "What?"

One of his eyebrows twitched in what she could only read as impatience. "I want you to tell me what you know about it."

"But I just did!" she exclaimed, more than a little exasperated.

A sigh hissed out between his teeth, and it suddenly dawned on her what he was inferring. _Damn his perceptiveness. _She had been reluctant to give the object to him at first. It had looked familiar to her and the scene she had recognised it from wasn't a pleasing one.

"I..." she started, to cut off any scathing remark he was about to say. "I think I've seen it before. I can't be sure though."

She paused and took a deep breath, meeting his gaze.

"What I saw doesn't reveal anything about its purpose. I just know that it was in your possession and... it was important somehow."

He leaned forward and took the metal square from her grip, peering at it briefly before closing his fist around it.

"I see." He looked away from her, turning slightly to the side, appearing to be lost in thought.

After a moment, he spoke again. "So, to sum it up. We don't know Steadfast's plans, we don't know where their employees could be and we don't know what this chunk of metal is. That's a lot we don't know."

Haruka let out a sigh, her gaze dropping to the floor. She felt utterly useless. She thought she might have been able to scrounge at least a scrap of useful information from the documents they'd recovered earlier, yet the only thing she'd uncovered was more questions.

She looked up again as she heard Mamoru's footsteps. He walked to the door and paused in the doorframe, turning back towards her.

"We'd better go find some answers then." A smirk played on his lips. "Wrap up warm."

* * *

The tranquil darkness of unconsciousness receded slowly and along with it, the obliviousness of his injuries. Igawa burst into a fit of coughing as he breathed in a lungful of dust and smoke. It took him a moment to figure out why his head was pounding incessantly and what the hell was lying on top of him, making it exceedingly difficult to shift from his more than uncomfortable position.

He blinked several times, trying to make the little spots of light that were floating in front of him disappear, before realising that they were real and not a side effect of his return to consciousness. His eyes narrowed as he peered through what he now realised was a pile of bricks and rubble strewn across the bonnet and inside of the van. The lights he had seen belonged to a set of candles lined up along the mantle of a fireplace.

He sucked in a shocked breath and started coughing again. They'd ploughed right through the wall of the apartment building and into someone's home.

As his awareness returned to him, he looked around himself, cringing at the pain in his head. He was still in the driver's seat of the van, his seatbelt having saved him from being tossed out the crumpled windshield, but the interior hardly looked recognisable. The front of the vehicle had collapsed with the sheer force of the impact. The reinforced panelling the van had been modified with had saved his legs being crushed along with it.

He groaned as he tried to move his arm towards the seatbelt catch. Several bricks and what looked to be a wooden support beam had jammed themselves through the windshield, across his body and into the seat next to him. He was lucky that the beam hadn't fallen just a few inches closer and impaled him.

After a few moments of wriggling, he managed to free his arm and clumsily release the seatbelt from its fastening. He turned his attention to the driver side door. It was jammed up against the wall. There was no way he'd be able to get out that way.

With much difficulty and protesting from his aching body, he twisted around to his left to peer behind him. Half of the surveillance and reconnaissance equipment that had been fitted to various fixtures in the van had come loose and were now scattered across the floor, no doubt completely unsalvageable. Then, for the first time since waking, a thought struck him. _Callum. _Where the hell was the Scot?

His eyes darted around the interior of the van, but he couldn't see the man's body. If he was hurting this much, he couldn't imagine what might have happened to Callum, who hadn't been wearing his seatbelt.

Twisting further, he grabbed the side of his seat with his right hand and pulled, trying to free his lower body from the rubble. His breath left him in a rush as pain shot up his spine, causing him to hastily release his grip on the seat.

It took a few seconds for the needles that were racing up his back to subside and his accelerated breathing to return to normal. He hadn't thought he'd broken anything, but couldn't identify what had caused that kind of pain either. He was sure that if he'd broken his spine, he wouldn't have been able to move at all. He hoped it was just a caught nerve or twisted muscle.

Trying another approach, he started pushing away some of the rust coloured bricks. They dropped with a thud onto the floor of the van. There was no way he was going to be able to move the support beam, but perhaps if he dislodged some of the other rubble, he could make enough room to squirm out of the seat.

He resisted the urge to sneeze as two bricks clunking to the floor pushed another cloud of dust into the air. _Finally! _He had made enough room to free his right leg. He flexed it experimentally and was relieved to feel nothing more than a dull ache in the muscles.

Bending his leg, he managed to twist enough to place his heel on the seat. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for what was to come. Pushing against the seat as leverage, he grabbed a hold of the inside door handle and gear stick and heaved. For a moment his left leg didn't budge and he felt that intense pain in his back again. He bit back the cry that was threatening to spill out of his mouth and continued to push against the seat. Abruptly his leg tore free, causing him to fall to one side, jamming his ribs against several bricks. He coughed and spluttered as he was winded once again.

"I'm not cut out for this shit," he mumbled to himself as he crawled into the back of the van.

As he cleared the last pieces of rubble, he collapsed onto the hard floor and rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. Catching his breath, he tried to formulate what needed to be done now. He had to find Callum, but should he find a way of contacting the network first? The throbbing in his head was making it annoyingly difficult to focus.

He should probably check around the perimeter of the van for any signs of his partner first. It wouldn't be very prudent to mess around with the equipment inside if Callum happened to be lying around injured nearby.

Pushing himself onto his elbow on one side, he peered down at his feet. He scowled bitterly as he noticed the left leg of his baggy jeans was torn almost to shreds. Whoever had been driving that Land Rover, he would find them and make them pay. No way he was going to let this go unanswered, even if it had only been an accident.

Igawa looked up, startled at the scraping sound of the van's warped side door sliding open. Instinctively, he shuffled away from the opening, as a slender silhouette stepped into sight. That definitely wasn't Callum.

He felt blindly on the floor around him with one hand, searching for something to use as a weapon as he eyed the figure peering in at him. He couldn't make out any features, with the street light on the opposite side of the road directly behind his subject.

The van rocked slightly as the figure took one step inside, hunching over to avoid hitting their head on the ceiling. He could hear his pulse thundering in his ears as his fingers found a crumbled piece of brick. He was hoping he'd find something a little more deadly, but he was out of time.

As fast as he could manage, he rolled onto his knees and pushed forward, aiming to use the momentum to get to his feet and put enough force behind his swinging arm. As he moved, that needle-like pain shot up his spine again, causing him to stagger.

The next moment, his feet were out from under him and his back slammed into something solid. A forceful pressure weighed against his chest and the arm holding the brick was twisted away from his body. He let out a strangled yelp as his wrist was wrenched to near breaking point. He heard the thud of the brick as it dropped from his fingers.

As he looked up to spit a defiant curse into his assailant's face, he froze. The first thing he noticed was the blonde hair tied tightly behind her head. _Her!_ He'd just been floored effortlessly by a woman! He blinked.

"You!"

Full lips curved into an elegant smile.

"Nice to see you again as well, Igawa."

"What th-"

His outraged question was cut off abruptly by a fist to his face.

* * *

"What a waste of time," Mamoru spat out the words as if they tasted bad.

Haruka murmured something behind him, but her voice was too subdued for him to hear it clearly. She had been especially quiet ever since they had left Yano's workplace. Or more appropriately, ex-workplace.

Yano, he hadn't known what the man's first name was, nor cared to know, had owned a small electronics store in a quiet section of the shopping district they were now walking through. Before he had reinitiated contact with Igawa, Mamoru had used Yano for his information gathering skills. The man was known, to some, to have his finger in many pies. Unfortunately, it seemed that had ultimately come back to bite him on the ass.

Mamoru had often visited the store during the night and had always been welcomed, or at least his money had. This night though, the shop had been shuttered tightly and it had been a huge inconvenience to break the lock and wake the occupants of the apartment above the store. They hadn't been all too pleased to see him either.

Still, after a little persuasion, they had answered his questions. Apparently, Yano had gone missing some months before. One day he had been working the shop, the next he was simply gone. He had turned up two weeks ago, or at least parts of him had. He had been identified through dental records. The timing was decidedly problematic. He could guess that he had probably rubbed some Yakuza big shot the wrong way, purely down to the description of his body and where he had been dumped. That ruled out that his death had been related to his association with Mamoru, but it didn't help to lighten his mood any.

It felt like they were running against a brick wall. They were making no headway whatsoever. It seemed that whenever they found something promising, be it information or something more solid, another obstacle would crop up, blocking their way.

He seriously needed some way of relieving his pent up frustration. As they walked out onto a wide plaza, centred by a trickling fountain, he was more than a little disappointed to see that the area was all but abandoned. It wasn't exactly surprising, considering the time of night, but he had hoped some seedy types would be hanging around, nonetheless.

The pitter-patter of the water being pushed up by the fountain's mechanism and dropping back into the circular pool grew louder as they neared the centre of the paved square. He almost missed the sudden absence of Haruka's footsteps under the noise of the water. He turned abruptly, startling a flock of pigeons which had alighted on the edge of the fountain. They beat their wings hastily as they flew away.

His eyebrows furrowed together as he spotted Haruka standing frozen in place, seemingly staring into space.

"Hey," he barked at her, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

She didn't respond, which only succeeded in irritating him further.

"Haruka."

Again, it was as if the woman hadn't heard him at all. He cursed under his breath as he closed the distance between them. He stopped a step in front of her and stooped slightly to bring himself to her eye level.

"Haruka?" he asked, hesitantly. She hadn't reacted to his presence, and even though he couldn't see exact details of the look in her eyes, it felt as if she was staring straight through him.

Her breathing was shallow but she didn't seem to be in any distress. So, a vision then? It was unusual for her to be completely out of it like this, though. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook gently.

"Haruka, snap out of it."

She tensed against his touch and her head titled to one side.

"Mamoru?" Her voice was tinged with confusion briefly before she inhaled suddenly in a brief gasp.

"Mamoru, we need to get home now."

He raised an eyebrow as he straightened, dropping his hand from her shoulder.

"Why?"

Her expression seemed to brighten as she spoke. "We have guests."


	10. Houseguests

**Thorny Path**

Houseguests

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Sorry about the delay folks. I just bought a house and moved in as well as getting married, so things have been pretty hectic. Lovely house though! Open fireplace, Jacuzzi, swimming pool. *sighs happily*

Anyway, enough of my giddiness! On with the story!

* * *

Alpha slid back into the apartment that was his temporary home. The evening had proven less futile than he had initially suspected it would be. Depositing his jacket and shoes in the hallway, he headed through to the small bedroom.

The room was rather cramped and smelled musty. A quick glance at the dust gathered on the bedside table explained the scent. It looked like this particular apartment hadn't seen use in quite a while and the cleaners they hired on occasion had neglected to go through all of the rooms.

Alpha tossed the contents of his pockets onto the crumpled sheets and dragged the plain armchair that had been slotted into the corner of the room over to the single bed. He sunk into the seat and leant forward over the mattress.

Reaching behind him, he grabbed the handgun that was shoved into the waistband of his trousers and placed it on the bed, next to the other items. He mentally thanked the man who had given the weapon to him. His own firearm had been taken from him when he was forced to rescind his leadership of The Wall.

His meeting earlier that night had two purposes. He needed an ally outside of the control of the network, one who had knowledge of the more hidden side of Japan's underworld. He also needed a way to get information without compromising his team's trust with the Elements Network. Alpha hadn't been optimistic at succeeding on either point. His knowledge of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police force was limited at best. The Wall had avoided contact with them at all costs. Still, he had heard positive things about the man he had arranged the meeting with and although he had put himself out on a limb, he hadn't been disappointed.

Yes, Detective Genda was certainly full of surprises. Within the first few moments, he could tell he was sharp. Alpha hadn't been entirely forthcoming with his reason for approaching the man, but Genda seemed to grasp the situation quickly nonetheless. He had warned the man of the possible covert war that seemed to be incoming. He couldn't give the police officer any more details than that. He didn't know anything more himself.

Genda had, albeit reluctantly, agreed to keep in touch with him. Alpha fished through the items on the bed and picked up a small business card with the detective's name and number written on it. He wondered if he would keep to his word. He felt like there was a form of grudging respect between them, but that didn't mean everything he had said was true. Alpha needed Genda. He needed his police resources, his network, and his keen eye for details. He knew that the detective couldn't rely on his comrades in the force to go after the Elements Network's enemies. As far as he was aware, Genda was the only one who knew of their existence. So, if the man was going to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, then he would need to use Alpha. He hoped that need was strong enough and that he hadn't been misinformed about him.

So many uncertain factors. Alpha scowled. He liked a solid plan, not something hashed together on the spur of the moment. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.

* * *

The house was silent, but they were not alone. Mamoru slowly unsheathed his katana, making sure the blade slid out noiselessly. He strained his hearing. The living room - the noise had definitely come from there.

Taking a step onto the soft carpet of the hallway, he glanced behind him briefly. With a sharp gesture towards the kitchen floor, he told Haruka wordlessly to stay put. She nodded her head slightly, which was confirmation enough for Mamoru to turn back and head stealthily towards the living room.

He paused at the door to the lounge. It was ajar and he could now hear hushed voices from within. He positioned himself barely inches from the doorframe, allowing his glasses to do their work. The wireframe model of the room unfolded before him and his focus was immediately drawn to the two figures huddled by the sofa.

His breathing, which he had been deliberately keeping steady and more importantly quiet, hitched briefly in his throat. He knew the two intruders.

Relaxing his sword arm slightly, he brusquely shoved the living room door open, eliciting a satisfying gasp from one of the individuals inside. He suppressed a smirk as he strode into the room.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he barked at the pair as their startled gazes settled on him.

"Blade..."

Mamoru's attention flicked to the right at the distinctly female voice.

"Sierra," he replied simply, but abruptly.

The lithe woman straightened, ceasing her attempts to keep the other occupant of the room, Igawa, still.

"I don't like repeating myself," Mamoru directed at Sierra, his words slipping out between his teeth.

His first survey of the room had told him Igawa was hurt and if Sierra's body language was anything to go by, she hadn't been trying to treat him.

The blonde crossed her arms over her chest – another defensive gesture, Mamoru noted.

"Why do you think we're here?" she asked him, as if the answer should be obvious.

A sigh from the doorway turned the three's attention to Haruka as she walked into the room.

"Just how long are you going to keep up this pretence?" she asked.

Mamoru's brow furrowed in confusion and he opened his mouth to question her, but she cut him off.

"Not you." She turned to the other woman in the room. "Sierra?"

The older woman's arms dropped to her sides and she chuckled briefly. "Very well, Haruka. I'm relieved to see you in good health." She perched herself on the arm of the sofa. "And still in possession of your pre-cognitive abilities. I'd heard some rumours, and although it would probably be better for you if they had faded away, I'm afraid you're going to need them."

There was a short spell of silence as Sierra's words sunk in.

"What do you mean?" Haruka asked, hesitantly.

Sierra turned to Mamoru. "You know, right? She's in danger. That's why you came back when you did. What are you doing about them?"

The swordsman glanced between the two women who were both looking towards him as if expecting him to explain himself.

"Them?" he echoed. "Look, woman, I don't know what conspiracy theories you've got floating around in that head of yours, but I came back because I gave my word I'd protect her. If Haruka's in danger, you'd better spit out what you know."

"And while you're at it, care to explain why you damn near tried to kill me tonight?" Igawa spat as he shakily picked himself up off the floor.

Mamoru's eyes narrowed at that. Just what was Sierra up to? He hadn't heard anything about her since she disappeared from the hospital all those years ago. Where had she been and why show herself now?

"I guess I don't have a choice then," the older woman said with a sigh. "First," she turned to the techie, "I'm sorry, Igawa. My actions earlier were necessary. You were under pretty heavy surveillance and I needed a way to extract you without it looking suspicious."

Igawa gaped at her. "How is trying to run down a truck and forcefully dragging away its occupant _not_ suspicious!"

Sierra stared at the braided man for a moment. "So _you _wouldn't look suspicious, Igawa. You were already under surveillance. It's not as if you could have popped over here for a friendly chat without someone taking notice."

"I know that," Igawa mumbled, looking away.

"Anyway," Sierra continued, returning her attention to Mamoru and Haruka, "I've been back in Japan for about a year now and-"

"Back?" Haruka interrupted. "Where were you?"

Sierra smiled at her. "Here and there."

Mamoru could tell that Haruka wasn't satisfied with that answer, but he was getting fed up with these pointless interruptions. "And?" he prompted, gruffly.

Sierra dipped her head slightly. "And my original purpose was to find Haruka and make sure she was safe. I left because, honestly, I wasn't capable of protecting anyone back then, not properly. You weren't the only one who vowed to keep Haruka safe, Blade." She stared up at him, pausing to suck in a breath. "When I was searching for her, I stumbled across something the Elements Network were trying their damnedest to keep hidden."

"What?" Mamoru growled, when the woman wasn't forthcoming with an explanation.

"They'd been having dealings with several companies in Europe. Nothing out of the ordinary there, really. What did stick out, other than the blatant sweeping-under-the-rug of the transaction records, was what was contained in the records of the cargo manifests."

Sierra pushed herself to her feet and reached behind her. She pulled something out of the back pocket of her trousers and handed it to Haruka. "Take a look."

The pre-cog unfolded what was clearly a sheet of paper and stared at it. After a moment she glanced up at the older woman.

"I don't understand…"

Sierra leaned forward, pointing to whatever was written on the paper. "These chemicals here, do you know what they're predominantly used for?"

Haruka looked back down at the paper. "Pheny…lala….nine? Nuo-? No, I don't know what any of these are."

"Well, other than the commonly recognised uses, they're also known to be used experimentally in research of psionics, more specifically pre-cognition."

"W-what?" Haruka breathed.

"Get to the point, Sierra."

The ex-Wall member crossed her arms over her chest. "They were trying to manufacture a pre-cog of their own. Or at least that was their intent. The project was quickly scrapped from what I managed to find out. Too costly, or to slow results, I'm not sure. Either way, the network abandoned it, but their old associates over in Europe weren't so dismissive."

Sierra took the sheet of paper from Haruka's grip. "I found out two weeks ago that they've reportedly succeeded in creating an artificial pre-cog."

Haruka's mouth dropped open as Mamoru scowled at Sierra.

"What's this got to do with Haruka? Why is she supposed to be in danger?"

"Don't be so naïve, Blade. Surely you must know about the attacks against the Elements Network. The network wasn't happy about their research being used without their say-so. They tried to re-acquire it. Unsuccessfully. What's happening now is retaliation. As far as they're concerned, Haruka is still with the network, which makes her a threat."

Mamoru cursed under his breath. Was EN so desperate to get the edge they'd employ such methods? And now Haruka would be the one to pay for that.

Igawa shifted behind Sierra. "How'd you come by this information?"

The woman seemed to tense briefly. She glanced over her shoulder. "I have my ways."

"I don't care how you got it, as long as it's accurate," Mamoru grunted.

"It is," Sierra stated simply.

"Then I presume you came here with a solution?"

"In a manner of speaking."

Raising the cane, he sheathed his sword. "Let's start with names. Who's these mysterious European 'associates'? Don't tell me it's Steadfast Security. I don't believe for one minute they have the resources for this kind of mobilisation."

"You've come across them, huh? No, Steadfast Security is just a cover company. One of many. The organisation is known as VNO. Don't ask me what it means, I don't know. It was difficult scrounging up the information I have about them. They're elusive bastards."

Mamoru reached into his pocket. "Then maybe you can tell me what the hell this is?" he asked as he pulled out the small metallic square they had found.

Sierra peered at it as it lay in the swordsman's palm. "Looks like a bit of scrap metal to me."

Mamoru grunted. "Was worth a-"

"Wait a sec," Igawa piped up as he rushed a little unsteadily to Sierra's side. "Let me have a look at that."

Mamoru raised an eyebrow and handed the object over.

The techie brought the metal square up to his eye and rotated it slowly. "I don't believe it," he muttered as he held it up to the light.

"You know what it is?" Mamoru asked.

"Eh?" Igawa replied, only half-listening. "Oh, right. Yeah, I think so. Can't be sure of course, as I've never actually seen one before, but I think this little beauty's a very sophisticated data storage device."

Mamoru blinked. "That's it?"

"What do you mean, 'that's it'!" Igawa spluttered. "This thing is supposed to be able to store more data than any other device of its kind. Up to 100 times more. Do you realise how much that actually is?"

"No."

Igawa let out a frustrated sigh. "Of course, you need a special reader for it, which also makes it highly secure. Naturally, given some time, I could probably make a work-around."

"Good. I want to know what's on that thing." Mamoru said as he turned back to Sierra. "So, are you going to share that plan of yours with us?"

The woman smiled. "I didn't say I actually had a plan."

* * *

Haruka lay sprawled out on her double bed, staring at the sun as it crawled out over the horizon. Morning was here and she hadn't slept one bit. The revelations the previous night had swirled around her head, keeping her awake.

Someone had managed to create artificial visions. What did that mean? What did that mean to her? She had never thought about anyone else going through what she had been through. Were there more like her out there? Had her own abilities been artificially created somehow? So many questions, and there was no way of getting solid answers. At least, not yet.

Haruka rolled onto her side and groaned, nuzzling her face into the duvet. Why did she have to think so much into it? Couldn't she be like Mamoru – let everything flow over her as if it didn't matter?

A knock on the door made her jump before she pushed herself up, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Yes?" she squeaked, a little groggily.

The door open and Sierra peered around the side of it.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

Haruka shook her head. "No. I haven't slept."

Sierra frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you with what I told you last night."

The younger woman managed a smile. "I'm not really upset; just... it's taking a while to sink in."

Sierra took a seat on the edge of the bed, opposite Haruka. The ex-Wall member had changed so much since the last time Haruka had seen her. Her once long, flowing blonde hair had been cut shorter and was tied tightly back behind her head. She was more tanned, and her skin looked weathered. Just what had she been doing all these years?

Aside from the physical, the older woman seemed calmer than she had done in the past. Her eyes were clear, reflecting a resolve and determination that seemed unshakeable.

Sierra cocked her head to one side. "You've not had an easy life so far. I find it utterly frustrating that you still haven't had a chance to settle down and choose to live the way you want to."

Haruka sighed and shifted her weight on the bed. "It's fine, Sierra. This is what I'm used to. I can't miss what I don't know, right?"

The older woman's eyebrows furrowed together. "It's still not right."

"Where have you been? Why were you gone for so long?"

Sierra looked away, as if delving into her memories. When she began to speak, her voice was soft. "When I left the hospital, everything was so clear to me. I needed to become stronger. That's what I thought. I went in search of someone who could aid me in that. And he did. I trained, I practiced, I became stronger. But it wasn't enough. While I was away, Blade went missing and you were taken into full-time custody by the network. So I went in search of something else. Myself, maybe.

"I left Japan, went to America, then back to Asia. All this while, I remained out of touch with anyone from my old life. I guess I was trying to reinvent myself." She chuckled softly. "I'm not sure I actually did. But I did gain a lot of knowledge and experience along the way. I did some mercenary work to earn enough money to live. Not exactly ideal, but we do what we must to get by."

Haruka stared at her. Perhaps that was what was so different about her. She had seen so much more in the world now. Sierra hadn't been inexperienced when she'd first met her, but she had been tormented by something – something from her past. Maybe she'd found a measure of peace now.

"So you found what you were looking for?"

Sierra smiled. "I think so. It's not exactly that black and white. I wasn't entirely sure of what I was searching for, myself. When I heard about what the network were doing over in Europe, I found a renewed sense of purpose. I'm just glad that nothing happened to you while I was gone."

"I don't need mothering, Sierra. I'm no longer a child and I can take care of myself… for the most part."

The smile faded from the older woman's face. "Yes, it's easy to forget how long it's really been. I see Blade still treats you as he used to."

Haruka groaned. "He's always been set in his ways."

"That he has," she chuckled.

Sierra sighed and flopped down on the bed next to Haruka. "Are you ready?"

She ran over what she needed to do over the course of the next few days. "I'd better be, hadn't I?"

Sierra smiled wryly.

* * *

The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed around the sterile white walls. The long, narrow corridors carried the sound far, which was a blessing to Sierra. She rushed up the empty passageway, heading for the source.

Barging through the double doors at the end of the corridor, shoulder-first, she skidded to a halt as she nearly barrelled over two crumpled bodies. A quick check told her the two men were still alive. Blade had definitely been through here.

Hopping over the bodies, she sprinted down the rest of the corridor and silently cursed the impulsive swordsman. Igawa and Haruka were giving him directions from their makeshift base of operations through the communications device in his sunglasses. Sierra didn't have that luxury. He had rushed off and now she was following his trail of destruction hoping she might catch up with him. _Idiot!_

Sierra rounded a corner and was faced with a single door that was hanging off its hinges. It led into a laboratory of some sort. She caught movement at the far side of the room. _Blade!_

He turned to face her as she entered the room.

"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed at him.

He didn't reply. It was as if he was looking past her. Suddenly, he cursed and began to run towards her. Sierra's eyes widened.

"What…?"

"The car!" he growled as he passed her.

Sierra grabbed the pistol at her side and pulled it from the holster, following closely on his heels. "What about the car?"

"Communication's been cut off," he replied as they entered the winding maze of corridors.

Igawa and Haruka had been waiting in the old saloon, using two laptops to help guide herself and Blade. Communications could have been disrupted somehow, but if the swordsman was rushing back to them, he must have more definitive evidence they were in trouble.

Her heart pounding in her chest, they burst into the rear foyer. The guards were still unconscious where they had left them, lying against the security desk. Two panelled doors led out into the night, but she couldn't see anything through the darkened glass.

Blade made a bee-line directly for them, his katana held at the ready to his side. Kicking one of the doors open, he disappeared into the night. Sierra quickly followed.

The air was crisp and cool and a sharp contrast to the air-conditioned interior. Sierra had to sidestep abruptly to avoid crashing straight into Blade's back. He had stopped suddenly and as she peered ahead of them her eyes widened.

The saloon, which had been parked in a side street, opposite the laboratory building they had been infiltrating, was engulfed in roaring flames.

"No!" Sierra screamed, surging forward.

She jerked backwards as a hand wrapped around her arm, holding her in place.

"Don't be stupid." Blade's words came like a bucket of cold water.

She struggled in his powerful grip, but she knew he was right. If Haruka or Igawa were still in there, they'd be dead, and trying to get to them would only mean getting herself killed.

"Shit!"

Blade let go of her arm and stepped past her. Her head jerked to the side as she heard movement further up the street. Soft coughing echoed in the night air, which soon became fully-fledged hacking.

She gasped and trotted along the tarmac, her head turning from side to side, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from.

"Over here," Blade's voice drifted from an alcove in a neighbouring building.

As she neared, Sierra saw a crumpled form wedged into the recess. Torn clothing and obvious scorch marks caught her eyes. Blade knelt in front of the body, his katana laid at his side as he checked, presumably, for vitals. She took the last step to stand beside the swordsman.

Igawa looked worse for wear, but relief flooded her as he coughed again and his eyes fluttered open.

One of the techie's hands shot up and latched onto Blade's shirt, clawing at the material.

"Ha…" he started, coughing cutting off his attempts at speaking.

Sierra crouched down and rested a hand on his singed shoulder. "Calm down Igawa. Breathe."

He shook his head, cringed and gritted his teeth. "No… Haruka…"

Sierra's breath caught in her throat. Was Haruka still in the car?

"She… she's been taken."


	11. Desperation

**Thorny Path**

Desperation

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews guys! I've said this before, but I know this fandom is small, so every single review is greatly appreciated. I'd also like to make a special mention to Pepper, who left me such a wonderful review for Wintry Solace, my other UDDUP fic. I know you read this one too, so I'm sure you'll see this little note. Thanks! ^^

Did I leave things hanging last chapter? Heheh. So sorry about that. ;) Well then, here's the continuation! :D

* * *

Sierra clenched the material tightly within her closed fists and pushed forcefully. Mamoru's back slammed into the wall and he grunted, winded.

"What the hell do you mean we're not going after her!" she yelled into the swordsman's face.

She pushed upwards with her hands, the shirt bunching around his neck, as she tried desperately to rein in her anger. He just stood there, watching her impassively, not lifting a finger to push her away, to defend himself, to do anything. That pissed her off even more.

"Answer me, you cold-hearted bastard!"

He tilted his head forward slightly, his face drawing closer to hers.

"Get a hold of yourself." His voice was terse, controlled.

Something snapped. _Arrogant, selfish, son of a-! _She released the shirt from her grip and swung her right arm back, aiming a punch for his jaw. It never connected. Within a single blink, he had intercepted her arm, twisted it and spun her around, wrapping his free arm around her, effectively immobilising her.

"Let go!" she screamed with uncontrolled rage, struggling against his hold.

"Shut up," he hissed into her ear. "Igawa needs medical treatment, we need to leave before the cops get here, and you're wasting time taking your frustration out on me. Use your head, woman. Stop being so fucking stupid."

Sierra's struggles lessened as his words sunk in. She went limp against him, her breathing laboured. She couldn't just leave. Not without even trying to find out who had taken Haruka. She could still be in the vicinity for all they knew.

Her heart sunk. She knew he was right.

"Let go," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Mamoru released her and she stepped away, rubbing the arm he had twisted. She glanced at him. Why did he have to be so… detached? His cold gaze slid away from her as he returned his attention to Igawa. The techie was barely conscious. He really needed treatment at a hospital, but they couldn't take him to one. It was too risky.

Her former anger having ebbed away, she was beginning to feel ashamed of how she had reacted. This was a side of her that she had suppressed over the past few years. She needed to keep a calm head during these kinds of situations. It had taken disgustingly little pressure to bring her temper back to the fore.

The sound of sirens in the distance returned focus to her. She moved to Mamoru's side and helped support Igawa between them. They fled the area as quickly as they could, the techie's arms over their shoulders, his feet scraping against the pavement.

Mamoru didn't say a word as they moved through back streets and alleys, avoiding the rare pedestrian or car on the road at this time of night. Igawa groaned occasionally, but it appeared he spent more time unconscious than not.

Sierra cursed inwardly. All the careful planning of the past few days, making sure they had every angle covered, being certain that nothing could go wrong; it was all for nothing. She couldn't understand it. They had been meticulous. Had VNO taken Haruka? What did they plan on doing with her? How had they found out where they had been?

Sierra distinctly felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. There was something they hadn't factored into their plans, and without Haruka, their chances of countering would be next to nil.

* * *

Detective Genda stepped past the remains of a door. It had obviously received a heavy impact; it was hanging off its hinges. His gaze slid across the room, taking in the excessive damage. His brow furrowed. A few things he had spotted on his way in here were starting to bother him. He wasn't a man to believe in coincidences. Something about this scene seemed all too familiar.

"What are you doing here, Genda?"

He glanced in the direction of the gruff voice and spotted Detective Kazuki Hayashi glaring at him as he strode over. The older man shoved his hands into his trouser pockets as he stopped in front of him.

"This isn't your jurisdiction. Why don't you head back on over to Organised Crimes and leave the important stuff to us, eh?"

Genda ignored the barbed comment. He and Hayashi had been butting heads for years now, ever since he'd been moved to the Organised Crime Department. He wasn't sure if the transfer had been a promotion or a way to try and control him. Obviously, quite a few people on the police force thought it was the latter, hence Hayashi's attitude towards him.

Genda looked straight past the older detective. Two medics were crouched over what appeared to be an injured man. They were treating an arm injury.

"There were others injured, right? No deaths?" Genda asked, turning back to Hayashi.

The other detective's mouth twisted into a snarl. "Have you been listening to a word I've said?"

"Not particularly," he replied simply.

Hayashi looked like he was about to explode. Genda knew exactly what to do and what to say to set him off and he just couldn't resist when the guy was acting like a complete prick.

"Get off my crime scene, Genda!" he yelled, red-faced, flinging an arm in the general direction of the exit to emphasise his point.

Genda shrugged and turned, heading back out the door he'd come through a few minutes ago. He'd gotten what he had come here for anyway. Just before he disappeared from view, he threw a wave over his shoulder, suppressing a smirk as a barrage of curses spewed forth from Hayashi's mouth.

As he exited the building, he reached into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Emergency vehicles were lined up on the street, flashing lights bathing the area in reds and blues. He popped a cigarette into his mouth and lit it, inhaling deeply. He heard an ambulance pull away further up the street, probably taking some of the wounded to the nearest hospital.

There was only one conclusion he could draw from what he'd seen tonight. No matter how unlikely or down-right impossible it seemed to be, he just couldn't dismiss the notion. From the type of injuries, to the sheer speed and efficiency the assailant had blasted through the building, not to mention the fact that there had been no fatalities, he could only conclude that Mamoru Hijikata had been here tonight. But that was impossible. The man was dead.

Genda exhaled a puff of smoke into the night air, pulling the cigarette from his lips and walking slowly away from the chaos of the emergency vehicles. It had been presumed that Hijikata had died while trying to infiltrate a Yakuza safe house over five years ago. His body hadn't been pulled from the wreckage so the detective wasn't willing to believe such a rumour. Still, there had been no sign of the swordsman since then, so disbelief had slowly changed to grudging acceptance.

With no resolution between himself and his old acquaintance, he became more and more disillusioned; with his work, with people in general. Eventually, even his partners refused to work with him. He was transferred several times, and even more frequently reassigned a new partner. The guy currently assigned to him was a still wet-behind-the-ears, eager-to-please rookie. He followed him around like a lost puppy, though he was probably ordered to do so by the department chief. He knew he was being watched closely, that he was considered unstable at best. He didn't care. He did his job; there were fewer drugs on the streets, less violence, and more assholes in jail. The method didn't matter so much.

A voice in the back of his mind threatened to dispute that idea, but he pushed the niggling thought away.

So, which was it? Was someone mimicking Hijikata's methods, or was the swordsman truly alive?

Another puff on the cigarette and he'd reached the end of the street. He stopped on the corner, dipping his free hand into his trouser pocket. He pulled out his phone and stared at the device in his palm for a few moments.

Should he go down this avenue of investigation just yet? Maybe he should exhaust other sources first? He thumbed his way down the list of contacts, mulling over the dilemma. He didn't want to seem overly eager to make use of his new 'friend', but at the same time, he was sure the man would be able to confirm exactly what Genda wanted to know. He'd need to offer up something of value in return, though.

"Detective Genda!" an out of breath voice called from back in the direction of the damaged research and development building.

Genda peered over his shoulder and saw his new partner trotting up the street towards him. Deciding a phone call would be out of the question now, he quickly typed up an SMS and hit the send button as the younger detective stopped a few paces away from him, bending over to catch his breath.

"What is it, Tanada?" Genda asked, sounding disgruntled.

"It's Tanaka, sir," the younger man corrected, glancing up.

"Your point?" he replied, flicking what was left of his cigarette out into the road.

Tanaka's jaw worked, but he seemed to lack a response as no sound came out. He was a timid guy and Genda knew he would avoid conflict if he could. Now was no exception. After another minute and still no reply, he turned back to the road. He felt his phone vibrate and glanced at the illuminated screen. _That was quick._

Opening the new message, he scanned the short reply. His brow wrinkled. _What the hell?_

"Detective Genda, you should really stop interfering in investigations that are outside our jurisdiction, just because you find them 'intriguing'," came Tanaka's voice once more.

Genda ground his teeth as he re-read the text message before a surreptitious smile crept over his lips.

"Mm, perhaps you're right," he said absently as he began walking up the intersecting street.

Tanaka nearly tripped as he tried to keep up with the older detective. "I'm right? Just like that? You've been ignoring my protests for a week."

Genda glanced over at him as he fell into stride alongside him. "Not ignoring, mulling over. Today was very insightful. There's something brewing, Tanaka, something that'll make all this," he waved his free hand for emphasis, "seem completely irrelevant."

The other detective stared at him in stunned silence. It was obvious he thought this was another of his 'eccentricities'. Genda smiled to himself.

* * *

Finally he was alone. Finally she had ceased her endless questions and left him in peace. Finally...

Mamoru stared at the now closed door. It had been many minutes since Sierra had walked out of the room, trying her best to keep her anger reined in and mumbling something about looking after Igawa. They'd treated the techie's injuries as best they could as soon as they'd returned to the house, managing to pick up some medical supplies along the way. Mamoru hadn't said a word since they'd left the burning car. His silence had frustrated Sierra; that was obvious. Igawa had slipped in and out of consciousness, but had eventually flitted into restful slumber after a shot of morphine, so the demands about what they were going to do only came from the blonde.

Pursing his lips, Mamoru turned away from the door, fists clenched at his side. Why was he always the one who had to solve everyone's problems? He didn't have all the answers and he was sick of being treated as if he did.

He stormed over to the bed. He really needed to get some rest; it was the logical thing to do. He wouldn't be of any use in finding Haruka if he was tired. He knew that. Then why did he feel so pathetic right now? So helpless? So worthless?

"Shit!" he growled, lashing out with one arm, his knuckles connecting solidly with the wall. He cursed again as he felt the stinging of split skin and aimed another punch at the solid barrier.

Exhaling slowly, he relaxed against the wall, turning his back towards it, his arm falling limply to his side. He slipped down until he was sitting on the floor, staring into space. His gaze flitted over the wire-frame model of the room. Strangely irritated, he snatched at his sunglasses and tore them off his face, flinging them across the room. Soothing darkness encompassed him. He tried to calm his breathing, his racing heart, and his sudden flare of temper. He had the very real and immediate urge to sink his katana into something, preferably living and he fought against it. He couldn't give in to that compulsion; it was a dangerously slippery slope to nowhere good.

Yet the events of the day had proven something that Mamoru had been struggling against for many years. To say that confirmation frustrated him would be a severe understatement. It wasn't the first time in his life that he had failed to protect someone who was relying on him. He was sure it wouldn't be the last either. He hadn't let his lack of sight hinder him from furthering himself in the past, and he had been determined that the trend would continue. No, to blame his blindness was wrong. It wasn't that, or the weakness in his leg. Was it then that he had been out of the game for too long? He knew the task before him wasn't possible to do alone. He had known that before now. Was his network just too small after all these years? It had been neglected, certainly. He'd practically been lost when Igawa had been unable to contact him. Mamoru clenched his teeth. That was pathetic. Truly pathetic.

The swordsman's head drooped. He could feel something warm dribbling down his fingers. He didn't need to see to know the cause. He flexed the hand that had hit the wall. It was already starting to stiffen. He couldn't bring himself to care about the consequences of injuring the limb.

He slumped along the wall, his shoulder bumping into the bed, his head flopping onto the mattress. An overwhelming apathy was taking over and he didn't really have the inclination to struggle against it.

He'd had one purpose before Haruka; to get stronger. After that – after her, things just began to get more complicated. And now, here he was, doubting himself, his abilities; something he'd never done before.

He curled his uninjured hand into the thin blanket on top of the mattress, squeezing tightly. Where was she? What was she going through as he sat on the floor, wallowing in self pity? Another curse passed his lips. The powerlessness was starting to eat away at him.

Mamoru's head jerked towards where he knew the door to be. He'd heard something outside. Was that a car door? Swallowing forcefully, hoping to bury all those unwanted thoughts and feelings along with it, he struggled to his feet, pushing himself away from the bed.

As he reached the door, he heard Sierra's voice downstairs. He grabbed for the handle and finding it after a moment of fumbling, pulled and stepped out into the hallway. Now regretting having thrown his glasses across the room earlier, he hesitated as he crossed the carpet, heading for the stairs. His sword was also still in the bedroom. If that car door had been a sign of anything hostile, he'd be at a distinct disadvantage right now.

Mamoru stretched his uninjured hand out before him, feeling for the banister. As his fingers brushed the cool wood, his ears picked up another voice below. _What the-?_

Taking the stairs two at a time, he bounded down them and swung around the newel post in a less than elegant motion. He sensed the presence of two people in the kitchen and he knew he'd have been heard and would be in plain view of them now.

"Haruka?" he breathed, uncertainty edging his voice.

Silence greeted his question and he started to doubt what he had been so certain of just moments ago. It had been her voice, hadn't it?

Footsteps, then the side door closed. _What? _He took the few steps into the kitchen.

"Sierra?" he growled, sensing the woman was still in the room. "What the hell just happened?"

He heard the shuffle of clothing as the blonde shifted on her feet.

"She said not to go after her," Sierra replied at length, sounding dazed. "She said she'd been given leave to come here and deliver a message. That if we go after her now, we'll all die."

A blanket of silence descended onto the kitchen. That didn't make any sense. Who'd go to the trouble of kidnapping Haruka, just to risk letting her free to deliver a message?

"And you just let her walk out of here?" Mamoru spat, rushing to the door, his shoulder colliding with the corner of the wall as he did so. He cursed as he steadied himself and yanked the side door open.

The sound of crunching gravel drifted from the end of the driveway.

"She was serious!" Sierra yelled after him.

"Haruka!" he called out, ignoring the woman.

He heard a click and he frowned. The crunching had stopped. He couldn't tell if she'd stopped walking or just reached the end of the driveway. He took a step in the direction of the road.

"Blade!" Sierra shouted. "Don't!"

Again he ignored her and continued to take step after careful step up the gravel, feeling his way with his feet. He faltered as he heard the bang of a car door closing. The rumble of the engine starting followed and he could do nothing but listen as he heard the vehicle pull away.

He stood there for many moments, hearing nothing but his own breath and Sierra moving slightly in the doorway behind him. He couldn't comprehend it. Just what the hell had happened?

* * *

Haruka's fingers pressed against the cold glass. It felt so surreal watching Mamoru's silhouette disappear into the distance. She felt wholly aware of the judging gazes aimed her way, but she couldn't help staring at the end of the driveway until it finally vanished out of sight.

A dull ache throbbed in her chest and it pulsed with renewed vigour when she pictured that confused expression on Mamoru's face. It had almost broken her resolve. She'd had to bite her lip and stop herself from looking at her protector just so she could manage to get back into the car.

"You did well," came a smug voice to her right.

She tore her eyes away from the window and glanced at the man sat next to her. His thick blonde hair drooped over his eyes, making it difficult to judge his mood, but she was pretty sure he was gloating right now. She didn't reply, but the look on her face made it clear she disapproved.

The man, who was probably only slightly older than Haruka, chuckled. "Well, you did as you were told, so I'll keep my word and not harm them."

Even though she knew what would happen, relief still flooded through her.

"You were lucky that Mamoru came out without his glasses, Aides. I'm not sure everything would have gone as you had planned if he'd been... prepared." She couldn't help trying to put the arrogant man in his place.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Whatever do you mean? There was no other option but for my plans to unfurl as I have predicted."

She frowned at him, relaxing back against the car seat and staring out the window once more. "The future isn't set in stone," she mumbled.

Light laughter filled the rear of the car. "Of course it is."

Haruka clamped her mouth shut. She wasn't sure how far he could be pushed and Aides was starting to piss her off. She was bound to say something she'd regret soon.

As house after house blurred past the window, she replayed what little Sierra had managed to tell her when she had entered the kitchen. The woman had resisted surprisingly little when Haruka had told her that she couldn't stay and that they couldn't come after her. Perhaps she had just understood the situation quickly. Unlike Mamoru. Haruka swallowed the lump in her throat.

At least she had managed to find out that Igawa was all right. Injured, but not critically so.

She felt a hand grip her shoulder and squeeze and she shrank back from the touch, jerking her head round to look at Aides. Anger flashed across his face. That was something she hadn't seen before. For the first time since she had been kidnapped, she felt truly scared of her captors.


	12. Spiralling

**Thorny Path**

Spiralling

**Disclaimer:**I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N:**Oh the plans I had for this fic. I did, I swear! I just… am finding it hard to recall them all… Grar, damn you memory! *shakes fist* Naaah, I may be exaggerating a tad! It's just hard to get back into a story once you've stepped away from it for so long. Which is of course, entirely my own fault. If you can call life's little interventions my fault. Which I am. Yes.

And I really should have written down precisely what that text Genda received said… Tsk, foresight. Ah well, any suggestions from my dear readers? ;) It's like a 'caption this pic' contest, except… 'caption this text'? O.o And the prize? Um… oh , let's say a one-shot of the winner's choosing to the caption I find the most amusing. Go!

Also, thanks again for all the encouraging reviews. I came back and re-read them recently and they made me all dewy-eyed and actually wanting to write more. Which says a lot if you know anything about my struggle with writing recently. Which of course you don't. Just take my word for it. :)

* * *

"You'd better have a damn good explanation," Mamoru hissed through clenched teeth.

His anger was a smouldering ember that was threatening to flare up any second. He knew confronting Sierra now was a mistake. A wrong word on her part would set him off. He knew that. But he had to understand just what the hell happened. Now.

He heard Sierra clear her throat. A stalling tactic. Was she going to give him a load of bullshit? No, she knew better than that surely.

"Don't push me, woman. Why did you let Haruka walk out that door?" He could hear the venom in his own voice, but right at that moment, he didn't give a damn.

Instead of the expected sharp retort, a bitter laugh escaped Sierra's lips. Mamoru was taken momentarily aback, before the anger took over again.

"You know, Blade, you're usually the quickest to see things for what they are. Which is ironic really. Or maybe not, considering." She paused and he heard the creak of the kitchen counter as she leaned against it. "Not this time. Though I can't blame you. You're too attached, Blade."

"What?" he growled, not liking the implication one bit.

"You know Haruka, perhaps better than any of us. She wouldn't have come here and told us not to follow her if there was any other option. You haven't forgotten she can see the future, right?"

Mamoru's eyes narrowed. "So what?" His fist curled into a ball. "So fucking what? Just because someone sees something is going to happen, what? We give up? We throw our hands up in the air and give up? I don't fucking think so." Mamoru had the very real urge to hit something. He clenched his teeth and forced his frustration into his words instead. "If someone tells you that you can't do something, you do it anyway, just to prove them wrong. If something's impossible, you make it possible. If something seems so damned expected, then do something unexpected. If I don't like the rules, I change them. Simple as that. Don't give me crap about inevitability. It's bullshit. That's for people who give up. That's for the weak."

Mamoru sucked in a deep breath. Silence followed. When Sierra replied, her voice was quiet.

"Just because you want something, doesn't make it happen."

There was very real sadness in those words that quickly cooled his anger. He bit back the retort that was on his lips, instead listening to the footfalls as Sierra walked out of the kitchen. Pushing her now wouldn't get Haruka back any faster. It would be best for both of them to cool off and look at the situation in a new light.

Mamoru exhaled slowly. Fine. He'd do as Haruka wanted. He wouldn't follow her. Just yet. Uncurling his fists, he groaned at the stiffness in his injured hand. _Idiot._

* * *

Aides had left her alone for the rest of the trip. Thankfully. Haruka shivered as she recalled the anger he'd suddenly shown. He really was volatile. Not long after the outburst, he'd calmed again and acted as if nothing had happened.

Now she sat in her very own room, nestled within the bowels of a high-security compound in the middle of who-knows-where. For all their diligence with keeping the complex under the radar and the location secret from her, she knew this place. She had seen it before.

When she'd first arrived she'd been shocked and then scared. Who was she kidding? She was still scared. She had seen what would happen here. How could she not be scared? Her fingers curled over the lip of the chair she was sitting on, gripping the plastic tightly. There was no way she could let all that happen. She would stop it.

Her thoughts drifted back to when she had stepped off that driveway and into the car at the house. Mamoru's expression still tormented her. She hoped he would be okay. In the past she thought of him as invincible. An unstoppable force. She now knew better. He was a man, human. And all humans had their Achilles' Heels.

Still, Sierra was there, and Igawa. They would figure it out together and Haruka would do what she always did. Being locked up like a caged animal proved an inconvenience, but she'd think of something.

The main problem would be Aides. She still didn't believe he was what he claimed to be. Another pre-cog. She ran a hand through her hair. She had never encountered someone like her before. And it wasn't as if they could share heart-warming stories of their childhood strife and how they overcame them over a nice cup of tea. He was her enemy. That much was obvious. She had to come up with a strategy to counter him, and quickly.

She leant back against the chair, her head tilting backwards, and let out a loud sigh. _Piece__of__cake,__right,__Haruka?__No__pressure,__or__anything._ She grinned a little as she imagined Mamoru telling her to get off her ass and start doing instead of just thinking about it.

She felt a twinge in her chest. They'd been together again for a short period of time, really, but already she had begun to rely on him once more. She missed him. For all his arrogance, his grumpiness, his gruffness, he was a rock. He was stability and security. He was everything she didn't have right now.

The whoosh of the only door in the room sliding open had Haruka jerking upright, causing her to almost topple off her chair. She quickly tried to save face, steadying her seat and taking as graceful a pose as possible. When she glanced towards the doorway, a little flustered, she was met with an unimpressed stare. The man was bulky, tall, with short-cropped hair.

Haruka stood, her brow furrowing ever so slightly. The suited man's eyebrows rose slightly at the scrutiny he was suddenly under. He shook his head slightly and motioned down the corridor with one hand.

"Come."

Haruka wondered briefly if the man could form full sentences. She walked past him, her eyes locking with his. As she brushed past his arm, the corners of her lips quirked upwards. He took a step away from her, looking decidedly uneasy. She'd seen this man before as well, and she knew what was potentially in store for him.

* * *

Alpha leaned on his elbows and peered over the lip of the roof. Scanning the grounds below, he spotted nothing out of place. He frowned. Was the information he'd received bad? There had definitely been recent activity. He brought the pair of binoculars to his eyes.

He could make out police tape across the double doors at the front of the building. He scanned down the street to the side. More tape. And blood. So, the information had been accurate after all.

He'd seen enough. He only needed to check the veracity of his source, the information in itself wasn't important. He already knew Blade was back. With a flex of his free arm, he pushed himself to his knees, brushing dirt off the front of his jacket and trousers. He froze as he heard the distinctive click of a lighter flint behind him.

"Tsk, checking up on me? That's no way to start a trusting partnership."

Alpha spun around, pushing himself to his feet as he did so, and reaching for the weapon hidden in his waistband. With his hand around the hilt, he paused.

"Genda," he grunted as he saw the detective, cigarette in mouth, leaning against the roof's access door. "What are you doing here?" His hand dropped away from his weapon, but he remained tensed for action.

"I needed to speak with you. Face to face." The detective shrugged slightly, stepping away from the door.

"I'm listening."

"See, that's what I like about you. Always business-like. No need for chit-chat." Genda plucked the cigarette from his lips, and motioned to Alpha. "You knew Hijikata was back in town, didn't you?"

Alpha's eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn't expected that question. "Yes, why?"

"That little fact slip your mind during our last discussion?"

He frowned. "No. It wasn't relevant."

It was Genda's turn to look surprised. He pulled his jacket closer around him as he walked slowly across the roof, towards the edge. "He's always right in the centre of trouble. Or hadn't you noticed?" He pointed towards the building Alpha had been observing earlier. "Down there for example. Right in the middle of it. That trouble in the warehouse district. Wasn't he there too?"

Alpha's eyebrows drew together. How could he possibly know that?

The detective continued, "This situation that's brewing, that you mentioned. You really think he's not involved?"

Again Alpha mulled over how much he should really reveal to this shrewd police officer. It seemed he would work it out on his own, given time. Perhaps he could be of more use if he knew all the facts.

"And what difference does it make if he is involved?" Alpha asked, testing the waters.

Genda took another puff of the cigarette before looking over his shoulder at the former Wall leader. "Hmm, not much I suppose. I just like to know my foe."

"Your foe? I don't think Hijikata is the enemy here."

Their eyes locked and the detective stared unblinking for many moments. Finally, he grunted and looked away. "He's unpredictable. A loose cannon. His motivation may not be bad, but the way he does things is. To know such a piece is in play changes the game completely."

Alpha disliked the particular analogy the detective used, but he couldn't disagree with his reasoning. Blade did have a tendency to mess up everyone's plans, friend and foe alike. The American rolled his shoulders, trying to shake the stiffness out of them and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. The wind was bitingly cold this high up. He shuffled closer to the edge of the roof, closer to the detective.

"What do you plan to do?"

Genda peered at him before turning to face him. "That depends on you."

Alpha raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Are you going to tell me what's really going on or am I going to have to find out the hard way?"

* * *

Getting some rest was probably the best thing he could have done. Not only did he feel refreshed, he felt more in control of himself. Mamoru adjusted his glasses and peered at the wireframe model of Sierra sitting opposite him.

In his calmest voice possible, as if proving to her he was once again in control of himself, he asked the woman, "So, are you going to tell me what the message was?"

"Yes…" Her reply was almost too quick and the pause after it made it obvious that she was reluctant to pass the message on.

Mamoru wasn't a patient person at the best of times. Under the current circumstances patience wasn't even in his vocabulary.

"Sometime while Haruka is still alive?" he ground out, trying his best to remain calm.

"Yes, Blade!" Apparently Sierra's nerves were frayed as well. "I don't fully understand it myself." She took a breath and reached into what appeared to be a pocket. She pulled out something that rustled. Paper? "She gave me this. A single piece of paper with numbers written on it. Followed by one sentence. Bring it with you."

Mamoru frowned. "What are the numbers?"

"I'm no cryptographer, but maybe a location? Part of it might be a date. Really we need Igawa to look at it…"

The swordsman grunted. "How is he?"

"Better," Sierra replied. "He woke earlier, for a bit. He's sleeping again. He needs his rest. And I don't think he'll be much help with the amount of morphine he's been pumped full of."

"Wake him anyway. Let him look at it. He'll be pissed if he finds out he didn't get a chance to try."

Sierra nodded. "You're right." She snorted slightly. "As usual."

Mamoru could tell there was some kind of hidden meaning behind that retort. Sarcasm maybe. He let it slide. The situation was getting to all of them. He hated to admit it, but he could feel the strain. His loss of control earlier was an obvious reminder he was not the man he used to be. Everything changes. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for the worse. He was no exception. He was still confident in his skill with the sword, but injury and wear had taken their toll on both his body and his mind. He needed to be careful. If he lost control, really lost control, that would be dangerous.

"Now?" Sierra asked.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Unless you've got someone else more important that needs rescuing?"

He couldn't see the expression on Sierra's face, but he could imagine it. She didn't say anything in response, instead getting to her feet.

"All right. I'll see if I can wake him."

She disappeared swiftly out of the room, leaving silence in her wake. Mamoru shifted in his seat. He wasn't sure how much more inaction he could take. Sure, he had needed the rest, but he'd rather be doing something, anything, than sitting around waiting for answers to fall into his lap.

He groaned, flexing his injured hand to loosen the stiffness. Gone were the days when he could brute force his way through any situation. The simplicity of that life was definitely something he missed. He sometimes wished he was back in one of the warzones he had honed his skills in. At least then he had known exactly who his enemy was. And he hadn't had the burden of people to protect.

He cursed inwardly. Was Haruka really a burden? She had been useful in the past. She'd also been the cause of a lot of trouble. He snorted. Who was he kidding? He actively sought that trouble. When he first met her, he'd agreed to help her purely because she brought danger with her. So what had changed? Had he reached his limits? Had he become as strong as he possibly could? Was that why he no longer yearned for that conflict. That prospect left a bad taste in his mouth. What was he supposed to live for if that really was true?

A low growl rumbled in the back of his throat and he pushed himself abruptly to his feet, kicking the seat in irritation.

He took three long strides to the living room door, and stepped out into the hallway, in time to see Sierra coming down the stairs.

"That was quick."

She paused at the foot of the staircase. "He's still looking at it. I wanted to ask you. What is the 'it' the note refers to?"

Mamoru frowned. "I think Igawa's got the answer to that too." He didn't wait for a reply from her before brushing past her and taking the stairs two at a time. Stepping onto the landing, he headed directly for the main bedroom, the room they were now using as an impromptu infirmary. He wrinkled his nose as he entered. It was already smelling like a hospital.

As his glasses rendered the room, he saw Igawa lying sprawled on the bed. The rustle of sheets could be heard as he moved, seeing the swordsman standing in the doorway.

"Oh, you finally came to see me, huh?" His voice was quiet, and hoarse. He didn't sound like himself at all.

"Someone's gotta kick your ass into action," he replied with a half grin.

The techie started to laugh, but it soon turned into a fit of coughing, followed by stifled groans. Sierra quickly slipped past the swordsman and leant over Igawa, pushing him back to lie against the pillows.

"Don't push yourself," she said softly.

Mamoru watched on in silence. It was difficult to see the man he'd worked with for many years suffering. He knew Igawa wasn't exactly a combatant, but he'd always managed to take care of himself. Brains over brawn, or some crap like that. It was even more difficult knowing there was nothing the swordsman could do about it. The only thing that would help the techie was rest, and plenty of it. It put him out of commission. That hurt their efficiency badly. He hoped he would be able to come through for them now, at least just long enough to find out where Haruka was.

His lips twitched as Igawa pushed Sierra away, protesting that he was fine. Yeah, that was more like it.

"So, those numbers?" he asked the techie, ignoring the sudden look Sierra gave him.

"Yeah, yeah. Longitude and latitude, dude. You can look up the location yourself, yeah? And…" he paused, taking a few breaths as he relaxed against the pillows. "And the other numbers are a code, or combination. 4 digits, so I guess you'll find out what they're for when you get to wherever you're meant to get to."

Mamoru grunted. That wasn't a whole lot to go on, but it was a start. "Sierra?"

The blonde stepped away from the bed. "Check the co-ordinates, right?"

He watched her leave.

"I guess you'll want to take it with you?" Igawa asked once Sierra was out of earshot.

"Yeah. They can only mean one thing."

"Shit, I knew that kind of tech would be in demand, but something like this?" He paused, clearly stewing. "Look in the safe box among my stuff. The code's 55385."

"Right," Mamoru acknowledged before turning to leave.

"Hey…" Igawa's voice was quiet, sombre. Unlike him.

The swordsman turned his head, peering at the wireframe model of the man.

"Do me a favour, will ya?"

Mamoru raised an eyebrow, nodding after a moment.

"Make those bastards pay," Igawa hissed, with a surprising amount of venom.

The swordsman clenched a fist, looking away. Seeing the techie so full of hatred wasn't easy. He'd come to expect certain things from the people he'd gathered around him. Realising how changed they were, how effected they had been by shit he'd brought upon them… maybe he was a monster after all?

His lip curled upwards slightly. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" And with that, he walked out of the room.


	13. Zugzwang

**Thorny Path**

Zugzwang

**Disclaimer: **I do not own nor profit from any of the ideas, characters, names, etc that I have used from Until Death Do Us Part. Any original aspects of this fiction have spawned from my imagination, thus I'm rather attached to them, so would prefer if others don't nick off with them without referencing.

**A/N: **I bet you'd lost all hope this fic would be continued, hadn't you? Ha, I say! Ha! Now, I've only recently caught up with the manga, and there have been a few revelations that obviously weren't known to us readers at the time I started to write this, but I'm going to continue writing this fic as I had intended. Please try to keep this in mind, as you read. :)

* * *

The disused hospital was a collection of cold blocks with windows and doors, some shuttered, but most covered with a wash of paint. The buildings towered out of the ground like a yawning crypt shrouded on all sides by plain, dreary gravestones. The image cast an atmosphere of gloom on the entire area. The main building was accessed by a winding road. Where flowerbeds must have once stood, there were now only circles of mud. The tarmac had seen recent use though, dirt-free lines streaking along the path.

Mamoru peered up at the hospital's main ward, but he didn't detect any movement behind the windows. He had little knowledge of what he was walking into. This was potentially a one-way trip.

He fingered the envelope in his pocket, idly. The small object within the paper was solid against his touch. He'd brought only his cane and the envelope. He figured anything more would just weigh him down if he needed to adapt suddenly.

Taking a decisive step forward, he strode up the path, shoulders set, using the technology behind his glasses to scan for potential threats. As he neared the entrance, there was still no sign of movement. It was entirely too quiet. It smelt like a trap.

He gripped the handle of one of the wide double doors and pressed lightly. It was unlocked. Listening for the slightest of sounds, he pushed the door open slowly. It creaked a wailing squeal that echoed along the empty corridor inside. Mamoru cursed under his breath. If no-one had spotted his approach, they certainly knew he was here now.

Hastily entering, he closed the noisy slab of metal behind him and allowed silence to descend within the abandoned hospital once more. The hallway smelled of dust and disuse, motes that had been unsettled by the gust of air as he'd entered tickling his nose.

A glass panelled administration office led off to the right, while the main hallway reached for perhaps forty feet ahead of him, with labelled doors interspersed periodically along it. Mamoru grasped his cane loosely in his hand and he walked calmly along the corridor, focusing on doorways he neared. A quiet buzzing noise permeated the air. He tilted his head to listen more closely. It was the hum of electronics. So, the building had power. He looked up and spotted a camera above the far double doors. He was being watched. A smirk crept onto his lips. _Bring it on._

Walking underneath the camera, he stared straight at it, making sure whoever was watching knew that he was aware of them. He shouldered his way through the doors, and entered a square hall with a stairwell that split into two, leading up to the next floor. The air in this room was musty, a hint of mould attesting to the age of the furnishings and decor. His boots squeaked on the linoleum floor, making him pause. Considering the smell of grime, there should be a healthy layer of muck to cushion his feet.

Scanning the room, he counted five potential routes he could take. He'd gone over the blueprints with Sierra before he left, so if he recalled correctly, the passage to the north led to what had been a cafeteria and lifts that may or may not work. Either way, he wouldn't be attempting to use them. The corridors to his east and west housed wards and out-patient departments. Only wards were situated on the floors above. There was a stairwell near the cafeteria that led down to the basement, and he considered going that way first. Whoever was holed up in the building would have accessed the generator room below. It was as good a place as any to start.

Silence followed him as he entered the north hall. It was unnerving, walking through a place that would have seen so much life, and death, and sense not even an echo of it, made all the worse, knowing that somewhere within the maze of corridors, lurked an ever-present watchful eye. As if to reaffirm the thought, he spotted another camera above the lifts, making sure to give them a wide berth as he passed.

Framed doors, shut tightly, were inset into the wall on the right. The entrance to the cafeteria, he assumed. Next to them, stood yet another door. Glancing back the way he'd come, he gauged the distance to be about right. Pressing his hand against it, he felt cool metal. The entrance to the stair well. Trying the handle and finding it to turn easily, he stepped through, seeing a narrow set of steps descending steeply below. This would be a great place for an ambush, he noted. His pulse quickened as he took the first steps, anticipation pumping adrenaline through his body. He was starting to wish they'd just attack him already. Maintaining a state of high alert was taxing at the best of times.

He reached the bottom of the stairwell without incident, much to his chagrin, and took in his cramped surroundings. The ceiling was low, barely clearing his head, and he could touch the walls with both elbows if he raised his arms. A flash of memory flickered through his mind, images clawing their way from a dream, from his suppressed past. Icy fingers crept up his spine and he shivered. He rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off the feeling, and clamped his jaw shut, pressing forward.

As he neared the passage's halfway point, the low rumble of machinery became audible, gradually getting louder. The generator was definitely operational. He reached the entrance to the utility room, but before he reached out to try the handle, he paused, noticing something out of place at the opposite end of the corridor. Where a blank wall should have been, according to the blueprints, was an extra passageway, leading off to the left. Disregarding the generator room for now, he moved to investigate the inconsistency.

Slowing his pace to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible, he hugged the near wall. The acoustics of the stone and metal in the area made silence impossible and he grimaced as the sound of his boots thudding echoed along the passage. The only benefit was that the image his glasses relayed to him was exceptionally clear. He saw that the passageway stopped just around the corner at a door that filled the wall floor to ceiling.

He slipped around the bend quickly and scanned the barrier. Nothing about it appeared unusual, except that it wasn't supposed to exist. A standard lever-style handle adorned the door. He stared at it for a moment, wondering if it was really going to be that easy. Raising his free hand, he gave it an experimental tug. The door didn't budge. _Of course not._

Gripping the top of his cane, he flicked the catch and slid the katana free. Even its usual quiet swish seemed to reverberate loudly around him. _Well, shit, they're definitely going to know where I am after this. _With a single stroke, he slashed at the door, aiming for the handle. The blade met resistance, jarring the muscles in his arm, but effectively slid through the metal and wood, and, hopefully, the locking mechanism. He shook his arm, his injured hand feeling sluggish, and gave the door a kick. It shuddered before swinging open with a deafening screech. He clenched his teeth against the noise.

As the next area opened up to him, his gaze was drawn to the centre of another hallway. This one, however, was not empty. He saw a weapon aimed in his direction, an automatic rifle, and he backpedalled hastily, diving around the corner of the corridor as gunfire peppered the spot he'd been standing in. His back slammed into the wall as he hugged it, his mind racing to plot the best course of action.

Turning his head, he saw that the man hadn't moved, although the gunfire had ceased. He steadied his breathing, watching his attacker's body language. He was holding an M16, using three-round bursts. The usual magazine capacity was twenty to thirty rounds. If he miscalculated, he could be in serious trouble.

Darting out from behind the cover of the wall, the man fired immediately. Mamoru ducked and rolled back again, planting his hand on the stone to steady himself, counting three separate bursts. A hissed exclamation from his attacker told him he was getting frustrated. Edging to the corner, he peered out for the briefest of moments, and just avoided the bullets that thudded into the wall, spraying him with debris. He spat out the dust that had been sucked into his mouth and wiped his jacket sleeve quickly over his face.

That should leave half the clip, if he was lucky. Inhaling slowly, he forced his muscles to relax and then, exhaling, slipped out into the line of fire. Again, the spray of gunfire began immediately, but this time he relied on the glasses to keep him from harm's way. Dodging automatic gunfire was infinitely more difficult than single bullets, and he had to dive into the wall to avoid the first spray, jarring his shoulder. He dropped to his knees to dodge the next burst, half skidding along the smooth floor, before pushing back to his feet. He'd cleared the distance, closing within sword reach, and the man faltered, the tip of the gun wavering as he began to take steps backwards. Instead of swinging his katana, Mamoru sidestepped, dropping the cane and grabbing the rifle with his free hand, he yanked it towards him. His attacker was knocked off-balance, a sudden exhalation expressing his surprise. As he stepped past him, he twisted and slammed the hilt of his sword into the back of the man's head. He crumbled to the ground in a clatter of limbs, metal and plastic.

His eyes flicked the length of corridor, checking it was clear, before he reclaimed the katana's sheath. He moved quickly onwards, lifting his shoulder and moving it in circular motions to try and work the ache out of it.

Throwing a quick look behind him, he heard hurried footsteps nearing from the direction he'd just come. His breathing quickened as he broke into a trot, rounding another corridor.

His boots skidded against the floor as he stopped abruptly. An archway before him opened up onto a vast chamber, with what looked like metal walkways spanning from wall to wall above him. It screamed of military complex.

"Welcome, Mr. Hijikata." A thin, amused voice reverberated through the expanse, and his eyes drew immediately to one of the platforms above him. He could see several figures standing up there, the central one, a man, leant against the railing.

He was utterly exposed where he was, underneath the archway, and with the approaching footsteps behind him, there was no backtracking. _Shit._

* * *

The small box of a room Haruka stood in was illuminated by a faintly glimmering dashboard of smooth keypads and LCD displays. Half of the wall in front of her was taken up by a thick glass window that overlooked an all too familiar looking area. A single table of brushed steel and accompanying chair sat in the middle of the otherwise barren room.

She breathed in a slow breath, biting absently on her lower lip, trying her best not to summon the images she had seen of this place before. She'd been left alone inside, escorted by the hulk of a man earlier, but the door had been locked. She eyed the panels in front of her. Maybe she could cause some trouble from in here?

Stepping forwards she stretched out a hand, hovering over one of the consoles. The surface was flat and polished. Some of the icons were labelled, most weren't. To her right there was a touchscreen keyboard. She sidled along to it, deciding it was best to start with the more familiar. The surface was cool against her fingertips as she pressed a key experimentally. Nothing happened. Frowning, she tried another, then the enter key. The entire display illuminated with a bright red. _Uh-oh. _

She breathed out a sigh of relief as the warning colour faded. Either the interface was locked, or it responded to some kind of ID. At any rate, she was no hacker. Her plan had been snuffed out before it had begun. Pressing her lips together, she slumped into the office chair, the seat drifting a short distance on oiled wheels.

Here she was, caged up like an animal, yet again. _Haruka, you need to get a hold of yourself. _She massaged her temples with two fingers, recalling the visions she'd had over the past few days. Why couldn't they come when she really needed them? She blinked, catching movement in the corner of her eye. Sliding the chair forward, she leant over the console, peering down into the room below.

The heavy-duty door, grey and bland, swung inwards. Haruka swallowed the lump in her throat. The dread that had been slowly building since she had first been led in here, curling around in her gut, edging its way up to her throat, finally blossomed into fully-fledged alarm as her eyes locked onto Mamoru's bound form. Plastic ties held his hands in place behind his back, pulled tight and digging into the flesh of his wrists.

She had a full view of his face as he was pushed inside forcefully by the hulking suit-clad man who'd attempted to intimidate her earlier. Mamoru's scars were in full view in the harsh incandescent lighting, his glasses nowhere in sight. He looked tired, she realised, her chest tightening, drained.

The suit opened his mouth and spoke, but she didn't hear a word. She frowned, the frustration of the vision coming back to her. Desperately looking around, she searched for a switch, a button, anything that might indicate there was an intercom. Surely there must be. This was an observation room.

Her gaze fell on a small box beside the window. Half-clambering onto the console, she reached over and flicked a small switch. With a crackle, tinny sounds spilled into the room.

"Where is it?" she heard the suited man demand.

Glancing back down into the interrogation room, her breath hitched as she met a blind stare. Mamoru was looking up at the glass, as if he could see right through it. It was for the briefest of moments, but her lips twitched into the semblance of a smile, before he abruptly turned, focusing on the room's other occupant.

"Speak!" came the hulk's voice again.

There was no reply. The man's face contorted into an ugly mask of rage. With a single stride he stepped past the table, closing the distance between himself and his target. Clenching a fist, he swung his arm back. Mamoru didn't react, didn't move. With brutal force, the stocky man's knuckles connected with the swordsman's jaw. She heard the crack over the intercom and winced, but refused to look away.

Mamoru fell backwards, slamming into the wall. The window rattled in its fixtures. Leaning over the panel in front of her, peering down the wall, she saw him take a step forwards, shoulders hunching up, fingers curling behind his back. He spat a mouthful of crimson onto the floor. It splattered across the other man's leather shoes.

A stream of curses burst from his mouth, a look of pure venom directed at Mamoru. _What are you doing? You're going to get yourself killed!_

The man moved in for another punch, this time aiming low. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand by and watch this happen.

"Mamoru!" She banged on the glass with a closed fist, hoping the room wasn't sound-proofed, hoping she could distract the brute enough. He flinched, eyes darting up momentarily, but the punch landed, hitting Mamoru in the gut and doubling him over. She heard the exhalation of breath, the gag as he choked to gather air.

There was a click and a swish behind her and she spun, reluctantly tearing her eyes from the scene below. Aides stood before her, gaze dark and unreadable. She felt the blood drain from her face as he looked to the window, the intercom and then back to her.

"What have you been up to, petal?" He held up a hand to interrupt any reply, not that she was about to satisfy this man's ego. "No no, no need to tell me. I, of course, already know." A smile parted his lips. It was void of any mirth, and she had to suppress the urge to shudder.

"Are you feeling more co-operative?" the intercom transmitted the hollow-sounding voice again.

She wanted to see what was happening, but she dared not look away from this volatile man. The smile faded from his face as his eyelids drooped half-closed behind strands of blonde hair. A brief hum echoed in the back of his throat. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Haruka blinked, confusion drawing her eyebrows together. Aides took a step to the left, freeing the doorway up for a soldier to stride through, combat vest and khakis adorning his lithe frame. As he pulled a hand forward, the artificial lighting in the room glinted of a thin object between his fingers. Her eyes widened as he pulled the cap off a syringe.

"No," she breathed. "You bastard." She turned to the synthetic pre-cog, hatred in her eyes. "I won't let you do this to him. Not after everything, I-" Her tirade was cut short as the soldier surged forwards, gripping her by the arm and twisting. She yelped, cursing her own abilities, cursing Aides and the VDO. She struggled against the hold, turning sharply to get a look at the room below. Mamoru was standing. He looked tense, as if preparing for another hit. Then he uncoiled, like a snake, flexing his legs and pouncing at the suited man who was taken completely unaware.

Then she felt the jab in her neck.

* * *

He'd been built like a tank, but with the second knee to the stomach, he hit the floor just as any other man would. Mamoru coughed, trying to gather his wits and enough breath for his brain to start coming up with the next plan of action.

He'd heard commotion above him, movement, a struggle. It was Haruka, he was sure of it. Shuffling forwards, he felt for the tell-tale resistance as the toe of his boot dug into the unconscious body. He crouched, swivelling and carefully adjusting his centre of balance to allow his hands to search the man's jacket. The plastic ties twisted, digging into his skin. He gritted his teeth, looking for the object he knew was hidden beneath the expensive suit.

His skin brushed against cold metal, then rough leather. There. He fumbled with the catch, but finally ripped the holster open, freeing the combat knife. Pushing himself off the body he stumbled into the corner of the table, its sharp edges digging into his triceps. Mamoru froze then, listening carefully. He sensed presences nearing his position. There was a walkway outside this room, a platform raised off the ground, hanging suspended on metal girders. He'd hear them before they were too near. He still had time.

Shifting his grip on the handle of the knife, he tilted it, lining the blade's honed edge up against the rigid constraints binding him. He couldn't cut them loose with one slice, he didn't have the leverage. He'd have to saw through the plastic. Rocking the knife in painfully slow jerks, he concentrated his senses outwards. Footsteps. Three men. Packing body armour and weapons, if the heavy footfalls were any indication.

With a final thrust of the knife, it tore through the ties, digging into the flesh of his hand. He hissed as he straightened his arms, his joints burning from their confinement. The combat knife almost dropped from nearly numb fingers and he wrapped his hand around the hilt tightly, blood dripping from the other as he grabbed the table and pulled himself up.

The three approaching were close, all but at the door. He could hear the walkway shuddering as they ran. He took a large step, bringing him close to the wall the entrance was set into, flipping the knife in his palm, and poising his arm, ready to strike.

Predictably, the door burst open with a crack, and Mamoru slammed the blade home. He felt it cut into mesh, then flesh, jamming itself in-between ribs. A dull grunt was the only reaction he heard from the lead soldier. Pulling on the hilt, he dragged the man into the room. He stumbled, falling over Mamoru's arm, to the floor. He took the knife with him. Disregarding the man, he turned to the doorway, sliding a hand along the wall swiftly to pinpoint the opening, and lunged through it, his left hand leading.

He heard the rustle of aluminium against nylon, an M16 being readied, and knew exactly where to strike. His fingers encircled flesh, the blood coating his hand making purchase slippery, and continued forwards. The man's neck snapped backwards as his back hit the metal railing and he toppled over, a strangled yell echoing through the cavernous structure for the briefest of moments before it was silenced by a heavy crunch. _Two down. One to-._

Mamoru jerked his head round, sensing incoming danger and tried to twist away. He stumbled backwards, something solid connecting all too firmly with his temple. He struggled to stay on his feet, saved only by the guardrail. An intense throb shot through his head, prickling behind his eyes and sending his senses reeling. He shoved away from the railing, his sense of direction flawed, but knowing that if he stayed put, he would be easy pickings.

The wall met his hip and shoulder and he grunted as it forcefully guided him along the walkway, towards his attacker. His ears rung from the impact of, he could only presume, the rifle butt. That meant he was close, and might not have had the chance to back off and aim the weapon. He swerved away from the wall, making himself as difficult a target to track as possible. The sound of gunfire burst through the buzz in his head and he dived forward, aiming for its source.

He hissed as a bullet sliced through his shoulder, but his momentum carried him forwards, and his lips pulled into a sneering smirk as his fingers found the man's combat vest.

"You're in my way!" he growled, flooring the soldier, knocking the breath from his lungs. He slammed his knee into the man's wrist, pinning it there, useless. Piling his fist into the fool's face, he pre-empted any attempts at retaliation. He grunted as fire shot through his shoulder, joining the happy pain brigade he had going on his body right now.

He got to his feet, a little shakily, huffing in lungfuls of air. He shook his head irritably as the ringing in his ears made it difficult for him to focus on any audible signs about him. He had to find Haruka. He walked along the metallic platform, it shifting subtly under his weight. This was the direction he'd been led from initially. He was sure of it. First, he had to reclaim his weapon.


End file.
